


Unravel

by Dae



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Humor, M/M, Romance, Shounen-ai, Slice of Life, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-03-07 03:15:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 94,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13425582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dae/pseuds/Dae
Summary: One way to induce temporary to permanent impotence would be to see your boyfriend and best friend fucking after coming home from visiting your dying mother in the hospital.That was the case for Naruto until he met an attractive, wealthy, arrogant bastard of a man named Sasuke, who turned his world upside down.





	1. Club Locust

**Author's Note:**

> (UPDATE) 
> 
> I realized some people were being thrown off because I put that there would be 11 chapters to this story. And it’s like, “WTF how are you going to finish in four more chapters?!” Truth is, I wrote this full story before posting the first chapter, then around chapter 5 or 6, I started changing my original story and added in some additional chapters. 
> 
> Point of this update is to assure everyone that the story has become much longer than I anticipated (no longer an 11 chapter story). We’ll see where this story takes us.

Club Locust was a popular gay club and bar located in a back alley near the Red Light District. It opened at 1am. The dance floor that took up most of the space was always submerged in darkness. The floating neon colors from the strobe lights were the only things allowing the patrons to get a glimpse of the person they were dancing with. The bar, however, was always lit. On Friday and Saturday nights you were likely to meet a tall blond with bright blue eyes mixing up drinks behind the circular bar on the second level.

“Yo Naruto!” A voiced called through the music and bustling crowd. The blond bartender, Naruto Uzumaki, smiled at the familiar greeting but didn’t look up as he carefully poured the mixed up whiskey sour in a short glass, topping it off with a half orange slice and two cherries the way the bubbly young woman in the mini skirt had asked him to.

A slender guy with a neat ponytail and boring face sat at the bar with a lazy smile. Naruto glanced in his direction and grinned, holding up one finger to signal for him to hold on a moment. He stuck in two little straws and turned to the previously mentioned bubbly, young woman who was waiting anxiously. Naruto could tell she was itching to get back on the dance floor, but needed another drink or two to really get the party started.

Naruto slid the drink over to her and winked, “Here ya go sweetheart.” The girl giggled at the crooked, boyish smile he sent her way and slid fifteen dollars over the bar to him. Five-dollar tip. Not bad. He turned to ring up the transaction at the register, pocketing the five as he addressed his friend; “Sup Shika?” Naruto moved over to the drafts with an empty glass and began pouring a beer. Shikamaru Nara watched as Naruto placed the beer in front of him. Heineken, his favorite.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he took a sip, swallowed, and then took another sip before he spoke. “Just in the area. Figured I’d swing by.”

“Oh really?” Naruto wiped his hands on the towel that hung underneath the bar as he eyed his friend. “You, who hates being at clubs, let alone _out_ , just so happened to be in the area at...” he turned to look at the clock hanging behind him, “almost two-thirty in the morning?”

Shikamaru gulped down a bit more beer. It was obvious to Naruto that he was stalling.

Naruto’s eyes shifted to a small group of guys that gathered at one corner of the bar, two of them took seats in the stools. One of them picked up the small drink menu and flipped through it. The way they joked around and poked at each other made Naruto want to roll his eyes.

Naruto approached them and placed small napkins in front of them that would act as coasters. He could tell by looking at them they wanted beer, and lots of it. But just to follow procedure he smiled at them and said, “What’s up guys? What’re ya having?” They all turned to him, some of them still chuckling about what Beef-Head #1 said to Beef-Head #2.

“Hey uh,” Beef-Head #2 spoke up, idly rubbing his chin. “How about a pitcher?” _Not surprising_

“Alright then,” Naruto began setting empty glasses on the napkins. “What’ll you like?”

Beef-Head #3 looked Naruto up and down, a distinct look of hunger in his eyes. Naruto resisted the urge to gag. “I wouldn’t mind having a taste of you.” _Dear God._

Naruto gave a hearty laugh, hoping the disgust he was feeling was masked well enough for this dickhole to give him a nice tip. “Well I’m sorry but I’m not on the menu. How about Yuengling? It’s on sale today for half off.” He swiftly changed the subject to the 40 oz beer special on the menu. Beef-Head #3 gave him a flirty smile and nodded. Naruto quickly turned to fill their pitcher. When his eyes met Shikamaru’s amused face he discreetly shoved a finger in and out of his mouth in a mock-gagging motion. Shikamaru laughed, peering at the guys who were back to chatting it up amongst themselves. “Here ya go,” Naruto placed the pitcher in front of them before he continued, “That’ll be ten dollars.”

Beef-Head #3 held out a twenty-dollar bill, waiting with a stupid grin for Naruto to take it from him. This was getting annoying fast. He couldn’t help but silently thank himself for gathering the proper amount of patience over the past few years of working in the service industry. A couple years ago, he might have slugged this asshole by now for being so damn cocky.

Instead of acting on his inner desires, Naruto simply took the bill from the douchebag with a forced smile. “Keep the change. Love the tats by the way,” Beef-Head #3 said with a wink. _Ew._ Naruto knew he was referring to the whisker-like marks on his cheeks, something people in his past couldn’t resist pointing out, either to make them seem cooler than they were or to make some sort of pussy joke out of it.

Naruto made a smile that almost looked like a grimace and nodded. “They’re birth marks actually, but thanks.” Naruto quickly turned towards the register before the guy had time to make some sort of irritating reply. When he looked down at the bill he was given, he wasn’t surprised to see the strip of napkin attached to it with eleven digits scribbled across. He turned away from them and let out a heavy sigh. Going over to the register, he tapped in the transaction and discreetly threw the piece of napkin in the trash while pocketing his tip.

Finally, he was able to return his attention to Shikamaru. “So?” He spoke up as he refilled Shikamaru’s empty glass with more of that shitty beer he enjoyed. Naruto wouldn’t be caught dead drinking Heineken.

“So?” Shikamaru questioned, though Naruto knew he hadn’t forgotten what they’d been talking about.

“The real reason why you’re here spying on me?” Naruto moved over to address a pretty woman in a long dress. He gave her a shot of vodka as requested. His attention remained on Shikamaru as he went from customer to customer.

“I told you, I was just passing by…”

“Bullshit.” He smiled at the two men he’d just prepared mojitos for, assuring them his foul language wasn’t towards them.

Shikamaru sighed and scratched the back of his head, his expression thoughtful. It was as if he was battling between sticking to his lie and telling the truth. “Well…”

“Well?” Naruto urged.

“Ino wanted me to come see you and…”

“Jesus. Really?” Naruto rolled his eyes and slid a business looking man his shot of bourbon. “So the girls sent you here to babysit me?” He wasn’t surprised that they’d sent Shikamaru and hadn’t come themselves. It was early Friday and they had classes in the morning. Naruto had class, but his wasn’t until the evening. Shikamaru, on the other hand, had graduated the year before and mostly worked from home. Therefore, he was the perfect candidate to come bug Naruto about something that they should know isn’t any of their concern.

“Nah man, you know it’s not like that.” Shikamaru finished the last of his beer and shook his head when Naruto motioned for another one. The orders died down so Naruto crossed his arms and leaned over the bar towards Shikamaru, waiting for his explanation. “You’re not still thinking about Neji and Kiba, are you? I mean we barely see you unless you’re working. Even then, you’re… I don’t know… distant.”

“That’s pretty funny coming from you.” Naruto joked, but didn’t sound in the least bit humored. He moved to prepare another shot of vodka for the pretty woman in the long dress, as well as one for her friend with the pixie cut.

“Hey man,” Shikamaru continued, knowing Naruto was listening even with his eyes and smile on the two girls demanding vodka. “It’s not any of my business, I know. But Ino and the girls have been bothering me about coming here to talk to you. I tried coming to your place but you’re never there…”

Naruto returned to the register before speaking, “I’ve been hanging around my dad’s place.”

“Is that so you don’t run into them?”

Naruto all but slammed the register shut. This little interrogation was really getting old. “It’s been a year,” Naruto spoke through gritted teeth.

“Exactly Naruto. It’s been a year and you refuse to go out unless you’re here and that’s only when you’re working. And, like I said, it’s none of my business. If you want to stay at home or at your dad’s or whatever then who the hell am I to say you shouldn’t.” Naruto could tell Shikamaru was getting frustrated. It was a strange look for his usually laid back friend.

Naruto crossed his arms, “But, isn’t that what you’re doing right now? Telling me that I shouldn’t...”

Shikamaru shook his head, “I’m telling you that you’re not being _you_ Naruto. You’re being me, and that’s not cool. Everyone’s worried.” Shikamaru got up from his stool and slid a twenty-dollar bill across the bar. “All I’m saying is maybe you should think about talking to one of us; at least the girls. They’re driving me nuts,” Shikamaru grumbled and rolled his eyes at the thought. Naruto couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. “Tell them I’m fine. I’m over it. Really.” He looked into Shikamaru’s eyes and Shikamaru nodded and turned to leave. “Hey Shika,” Naruto stopped him. Shikamaru turned back and raised an eyebrow at him. “Thanks man.”

 

* * *

  

Naruto’s shift ended at 6am when the club closed. He’d barely gotten through it all after his talk with Shikamaru.

Once outside the sun hit him hard. Being cooped up in such a dark space for so long made him almost forget such light existed.

After taking some time to adjust to the morning light, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket. He popped it open, and with a small shake, some ends of the cigarettes stuck out. He grabbed one with his mouth before placing the pack back into his pocket. He took a lighter from his back pocket and lit the short cigarette. He inhaled the nicotine with a content sigh. The morning breeze relaxed his aching muscles as he stood in the alley in front of the club’s entrance.

Naruto shut his eyes tight, he could feel his mind going into places he was sure he’d buried over the last year. How his boyfriend of five years, his high school sweetheart, Neji Hyuga, looked as he hovered over that prick Kiba Inuzuka, a guy he’d considered a best friend from way back when; both of them naked and looking over at Naruto who’d just come from visiting his mother in the hospital.

“Fuck,” Naruto took another long drag of the cigarette then rubbed his brow with his wrist. Thinking about this shit wasn’t going to do him any good.

No matter how many times he’s told himself that, somehow, the images continue to find their way back.

He ditched the half smoked cigarette, tossing it onto the concrete and letting it burn out on its own. He was going to crash at his father’s house, his old family home, out in Ginza. It was a long ride from the city, but being there always felt more comforting than being alone in his apartment. Turning, he made his way to the Shinjuku train station in the Business District that wasn’t too far of a walk from the Red Light District. Naruto had a feeling that wasn’t a strange coincidence. Most of his costumers were businessmen, too ashamed to come out, but too horny to say no to temptation. It was interesting the types of stories his drunken customers would spill out to him when they were on their fourth or fifth shot.

As he neared the train station he felt himself craving a little boost. The Coffee Shop was a café located in one of the fancy office buildings downtown. The coffee was a little expensive, but Naruto wasn’t opposed to spending a few extra dollars when it was worth it.

Forgoing the station’s entrance, Naruto walked three more blocks up till he reached a tall, gold and silver office building that looked more like a hotel. The only way to get to the café’s entrance was through the lobby. Naruto ignored the side-eyed looks and sneers he got from the snobby high-class assholes that looked at him like he was some sort of street rat. He walked through until he made it to his destination and pushed through the double doors, immediately hugged by the smell of freshly ground espresso beans.

The woman behind the counter with two cute buns in her hair spotted him as he entered and called out to him, “Hey Naruto! Good morning,” Her name was TenTen. She went to his school, but he hadn’t actually known her until he started coming to this coffee shop. The first time he’d been there had been with Neji. He remembered joking to his then boyfriend that TenTen had a little crush on him. That joke wasn’t so funny anymore.

“Hey Ten, how’s it hanging?” He said through a yawn as his hand moved to cover his mouth. She didn’t respond. It was just as a formality anyway. She continued ringing up her costumers instead. There were a few people in line ahead of him so he waited patiently, tapping his foot to a tune that was stuck in his head. When it was finally his turn to order, he leaned against the high counter on his elbows and laid his head down. TenTen laughed, patting his head gently as he pretended to take a nap. 

“Long night at work, huh?” She said and he sat up to smile at her.

“Yeah, too long.” He yawned again and turned his head so that TenTen wasn’t assaulted with his overnight breath. “You just got in?” He looked around. There was a line forming behind him. Weekday mornings were always crazy busy. He realized he probably shouldn’t hold up the line for his idle chitchatting, but a bigger part of him didn’t care. TenTen didn’t seem to mind either as she continued their small talk, letting the girl at the second register take on the next few orders.

Finally, Naruto put in his order and slid to the side, giving the fuming man behind him a cheeky grin. A couple minutes later, TenTen placed a caramel macchiato in front of him and smiled. “Here ya go, Naruto.”

Naruto grabbed the drink and took a sip. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he let out a slow, throaty moan. “Mh, this is perfect Ten,” He said before licking the foam from his lips.

TenTen rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Don’t be nasty.” Naruto grinned and shrugged. He took another sip, this time like a normal person. TenTen shook her head, but the warmth in her eyes wasn’t lost. “Hey,” she spoke up again as she moved to make a drink for the next customer. Her tone had undoubtably changed, “You doing better?”

The playfulness in Naruto’s face and body seemed to melt away. _Not again_. He looked away from TenTen and solemnly took another sip. She didn’t know much about what happened between him and Neji, but she knew the gist. And on top of that, Naruto’s demeanor had been so completely different in the past year in comparison to how it was when he’d first come into the café one morning hanging onto Neji; apparently hungover from a night of dancing at the club he now worked at.

“I’m okay,” Naruto finally spoke and nodded. It was as if he was not only affirming TenTen, but himself as well.

TenTen nodded back, seeming to consider his short response. After a moment she sighed and leaned back, sending Naruto a reassuring smile. “Well I’m glad,” even though she didn’t know Naruto that well, she still felt like she wanted to support him.

Naruto smiled and raised his macchiato up at her. “Thanks for the drink, babe.” He turned to leave after that. Again, someone had to bring up Neji. Didn’t they get that he didn’t want to talk about it? He knew they meant well, but all he wanted was to wipe all of those memories away.

Leaving the café, he was back in the lobby of the office building. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t seen the man walking in his direction until he had completely slammed into a hard chest. He nearly fell onto the ground when a tight grip on his arm saved him. He looked up and nearly choked on the amount of air he’d subconsciously inhaled. His bright blue eyes met disturbingly dark ones. The man he’d bumped into was gorgeous. He was tall and had a body like someone in those gay porn movies he used to sneak into his house. The title, “Good Will Humping” suddenly came to mind. The man’s face was flawless, angled in the right places and perfectly framed by silky black hair. If it wasn’t for the murderous look he was giving Naruto, Naruto would have considered asking the man for his number. 

Naruto’s eyes trailed downward until he found the source of the mysterious man’s irritation. “Oh,” was all he’d managed to say. Naruto straightened; letting his arm fall from the stranger’s grip as his other hand rose to cover his open mouth in shock.

The mysterious man had shoulder length black hair and was wearing designer black slacks, dress shoes and a midnight blue collar shirt that now had an ugly brown stain ruining the entire front. More of the liquid traveled further down and threatened to reach his slacks.

“Oh man, damn dude. I am so sorry,” Naruto all but sputtered out the words. “Hold on, hold on,” Naruto turned and dashed back into the café. TenTen gave him a curious look when he re-entered, but he ignored it. He trashed the crushed coffee cup and snatched a few napkins before heading back out to the soiled stranger.

The man was still standing there. His arms were crossed and his eyes were narrowed hard as he stared down at Naruto’s antics.

“Okay, it might look really bad, but…” Naruto began as he pushed the napkins up against the stain and began swiping away at it “I’m sure its not as bad is it looks”. He wasn’t surprised when he’d felt the hard muscles under the stranger’s shirt. He tried not to think about it.

Suddenly, pale hands swatted his away. Naruto took a step back, now holding wet napkins in his hands as he examined the stain. It was bad. Naruto looked back up at the man’s face. Naruto felt himself gulp. The heat in the man’s eyes was enough to give him goosebumps.

“Erm…” Naruto’s arms went slack. He could feel the eyes of the people walking around and passing by them. At least it was less likely that this guy would slug him with this many witnesses.

Finally the man moved. He shook his head and looked down at himself, then returned his glare to Naruto. His eyes never left the quivering blond as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an expensive looking phone. He tapped the screen a few times before holding it up to his ear.

A second passed before he spoke into the device. The mysterious man’s deep voice had Naruto’s mind wandering to places he knew it shouldn’t. Naruto swallowed, doing his best to suppress those devilish thoughts. “Be at my office in five minutes, and bring a shirt,” the man said, finally taking his eyes off of Naruto to reexamine his Armani shirt with an angry grimace.

The man removed the phone from his ear and tapped on the screen. A second later he slipped the phone into his pocket and began walking back in the direction he’d initially been heading.

Naruto’s mouth hung open. He just walked off as if Naruto had never existed.

Naruto jogged up to the man and tapped his back. The man stopped and turned sharply to face him, his eyes still narrowed as he looked down at Naruto.

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he began to speak, “Hey man, I’m sorry about your shirt. Maybe I could pay you back somehow? Get it dry-cleaned or something?”

The man turned to fully face Naruto. Then, the man spoke to him for the first time, “Don’t bother,” was all he said, then resumed his walking towards, what Naruto could now tell, was where the elevators were located. 

For some odd reason, Naruto couldn’t leave it alone. He sped up to the man again, walking beside him as he went. “Seriously? I mean, that’s a pretty nasty stain,” he observed, and then looked up to the man’s face. He wasn’t even looking at him. It was really bothering Naruto. Clearly the man was going into work and Naruto had potentially ruined the better half of the man’s morning. What if the guy had a meeting or whatever important shit businessmen did? Naruto shook his head, trying to wean himself off the guilty feeling bubbling up within him. When they reached the elevator, he made a hasty decision and hopped forward then in front of the man to block his path. “Okay look,” and the man finally did. Those dark eyes met his once again. Naruto suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable and exposed, but he pushed that unsettling feeling aside. “I work at a bar—well club, not too far from here called Club Locust on the second floor. Come anytime after one in the morning on a Friday or Saturday and I’ll make you as many drinks as you want. On me.” Naruto grinned, finding his solution to be the most fitting one. The man didn’t comment. He reached behind Naruto and pressed the up button on the elevator. Naruto wondered if the man had even been listening to him.

With a heavy sigh, he gave up. He moved out of the way as the doors opened and allowed the man, who’s name he still didn’t know, to slip inside. Naruto lifted his sullen head as a thought came to mind.

“I’m Naruto, by the way!” He called out just before the doors closed. He thought maybe the man had looked his way, but it happened too fast for him to really know. He felt a little embarrassed now. It wasn’t as though people were too surprised by his appearance. All types of people came into this prestigious office building simply for the coffee shops and other restaurants that resided on the lobby level. But none of them were as loud and they usually didn’t smell like alcohol and cigarettes. Naruto looked down at himself and sniffed at his shirt.

He scrunched up his nose at the smell. It wasn’t horrible, but he was in definite need of a shower.

He walked away from the elevator, out the lobby and back onto the main street. Naruto yawned. Dammit, he’d lost his coffee and now there was nothing to temporarily cure his drowsiness. He vaguely wondered if that mysterious man would take him up on his offer.

 

* * *

 

Around 4pm Naruto woke up on his father’s couch. He didn’t have the strength to carry himself up the steps to his old bedroom. He’d spent the most of his time in the past year at his old house. At first it was to help out with cleaning and cooking. Without his mom around his dad seemed like a stranded puppy in more need than Naruto would ever know. A year ago in October, his mother had passed away the day before his birthday. She had liver cancer. They all knew it was coming, but even still, it had hit them hard.

His apartment near his college campus was likely collecting dust. Shikamaru wasn’t completely wrong about him not wanting to run into Neji and Kiba. Kiba used to be his roommate. After finding him on the couch with his boyfriend, at the very least, Kiba had the decency to move out. Now the two lived together in some apartment complex a few blocks from him. Or at least, that was what his friend, Sakura Haruno, had told him. She was a childhood friend of both Kiba and Naruto. She was obviously guilty about staying friends with the both of them, but Naruto had said he didn’t care. It was the truth. It wouldn’t be fair for him to rip them apart. Even if that’s what Kiba had done to him.

“Good afternoon sleepy head,” Naruto rolled onto his back to stare up at his father, Minato. He looked much older than he did two years ago before his mother was diagnosed. His forty-five year old father was looking like he was pushing sixty. Naruto was happy, at least, that his father was smiling again.

“Afternoon,” Naruto said in a yawn. He sat up and rubbed the back of his messy hair before looking down at himself. He was still dressed in his boxers and his tight black top with the letters CL engraved on the breast pocket. He also had a fleece blanket draped over his legs, no doubt from his dad.

“Want something to eat?” Minato asked, sitting beside Naruto with a cup of coffee. He switched on the TV and flipped through the channels until he landed on Animal Planet.

“Nah,” Naruto let out another yawn, this time stretching his arms over his head and letting his bones pop. “I’m gonna head back to my apartment. I’ve got evening class in,” he checked his watch, “a little less than two hours.”

“Hop to it then,” Minato said, his eyes never leaving the program about how kangaroos raise their young.

A quick shower later and Naruto was brushing his teeth. He put on a pair of comfortable stonewashed skinny jeans and a bright orange polo. When he was finished, he slipped on his converse by the door along with the messenger bag he’d left on the coat rack. “Later dad,” He waved at his father who was still staring mesmerized at the kangaroo program. He received an absentminded wave in return. He smiled and shook his head at his easy-to-impress father before he left, locking the door behind him.

His phone buzzed as he made his way down the street to the bullet train station. He slipped his phone from his back pocket and read the messages on his lock screen. He had a few he’d ignored when he was at work and hadn’t bothered to check. Two from Sakura asking about when he was going back to his apartment, one from his dad asking if he was working, a couple more from Sakura and a few from Shikamaru and Chouji, who was also Ino’s boyfriend of five years.

Then there was one from Hinata… He paused at the name. She was Neji’s cousin. He didn’t want to stop being friends with her, but it had been awkward talking to her over the past year. She’d attended his mother’s funeral along with Neji and Kiba. He managed to smile at her without looking like he wanted to murder her cousin and his traitor of a “best friend”. Since then they’d text every now and then, but they hadn’t actually hung out since the break up. She asked him if he wanted to have coffee with her on Sunday. He’d think about it.

Scrolling through a few more he sighed before slipping his phone into his back pocket. He could tell it was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

 

After his three-hour class it was 9pm. He got to his apartment ten minutes later and dropped his bag on the floor next to the door. Only six more months on the lease and he could finally get the hell out of this apartment filled with nothing but bad memories. He’d remembered how excited he and Kiba were when they found this place. It was perfect! It was a two bedroom, two bathroom space with a balcony and big enough living room so that Kiba’s oversized dog could run around without breaking anything. Hell, if there was anyone Naruto missed it was Akamaru.

Naruto went to the fridge and snatched a beer before entering the living room to plop down on the couch. He’d thrown his old couch out after he’d found the two traitors on it playing tonsil hockey with their dicks out.

The vibration of his phone in his back pocket startled him. He pulled it out and answered without checking the caller ID.

“Yo,” he said lazily as he searched for his TV remote.

“Naruto, you ass!” He cringed at the high-pitched voice screeching at him over the speaker.

“Jesus Sakura, what crawled up your butt?” He found the remote squished between the two sofa cushions. He turned it on and tuned it to Cartoon Network. A cartoon was on that he’d never seen before.

“You, you jackass! I’ve been calling and texting you for three days. Ever think to check your phone?” Naruto frowned, feeling guilty. He didn’t even realize he was ignoring her messages. He just didn’t text back much anymore.

“Sorry,” he grumbled. She let out a long sigh; he could tell she was pacing around her apartment.

“You’re lucky Ino called me this morning. She told me Shikamaru came to see you. I was two seconds away from staking out your apartment.” Her voice sounded softer. She seemed to be calming down. “Dammit Naruto, a little warning next time you go off the grid?”

“Yeah, okay,” He scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed. Sakura was like his big sister, even though they were the same age. Whenever she scolded him it made him think about the times his mother had caught him sneaking cookies out of the kitchen during Christmas dinners. “Sorry, I’ve been hanging out at my dads for a while. ‘Been losing track of time. I wasn’t trying to ignore you.”

The line went silent for a moment. Naruto checked his phone to see if she had hung up. When he saw that the call was still active he placed the phone back against his ear.

“How’s your dad doing?” Sakura finally spoke up.

“He’s okay. Hanging in there. He’s doing a lot better.”

“What about you?”

Naruto sighed, should’ve seen that coming. “What about me?”

Sakura let out a strange noise sounding almost like a scoff. Naruto raised his eyebrow at the noise, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “You know what I mean, Naruto.”

“No. I don’t,” This was getting annoying. He knew his friends worried about him, but he could take care of himself. He didn’t need them butting in and constantly asking him how he was _feeling._ He took a sip of his beer.

“Naruto,” she said, her tone signifying a warning.

“Sakura,” Naruto mimicked.

“Look, if you don’t want to talk about Neji and Kiba then…”

“And I don’t,” he added before she could finish.

“Then that’s fine. But, you know I’m here if you need to talk. I just wish you wouldn’t shut me out. I wish…” She paused. Naruto could feel himself tensing up. “I wish you could go back to the way you used to be. The happy Naruto I grew up with. I know this past year has been really shitty, but…”

“I get it…” He cut in, this time sounding exhausted. He hated himself for being this way, but he couldn’t control the way he felt. The anger that had built up over the past year was intense and hard to beat. He needed time.

“Hey,” Sakura spoke, her tone sounding lighter. She was obviously trying to brighten the grim mood. “You want to hang out with Lee and me this Sunday. We were planning on catching a movie and maybe checking out that new restaurant that’s opened up over in Shinjuku.”

Naruto laughed, “Nah,” he shook his head. “I don’t want to be a third wheel for you and Speedy.” As much as he loved her boyfriend, Rock Lee, the guy could be a headache to hang out with. It was like hanging out with a cross between your high school gym teacher and a ten year old who’d just eaten all of their Halloween candy. The guy had energy. No doubt he was good in bed. He’d made that joke a few times and each time Sakura had blushed and smacked him on the back of the head for it.

“Aw Naruto, you know you’d never be a third wheel to me.” He could practically hear the pout in her voice and it made him chuckle, but he shook his head again.

“No thanks. You two kids have fun though. Besides…” He hesitated for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he should talk to Sakura about Hinata. She might make it a bigger deal than it actually was. Then again, maybe Naruto was making it a bigger deal than it was. He and Hinata had been friends long before he even knew Neji existed. He knew he shouldn't cut her out like this, but...

“Besides what?”

“Well… Hinata sent me a text. Wants to meet up on Sunday.” The line went quiet for another awkward moment.

“Oh.” Was all Sakura managed to say. “Well,” she cleared her throat. “You should go.”

“I should?” Naruto took a long gulp of his beer. The last time he’d really hung out with Hinata was with Neji. They went to the beach together. Kiba had come along too. He’d remembered thinking it was odd that both Neji and Kiba went to the bathroom together and took thirty minutes to come back. Neji told him that they were stuck in a long line and Kiba had dropped his class ring in the sand so they spent some time looking for it. He was stupid to believe them.

“… me she misses you.”

“Hm?” He had to blink himself out of those treacherous thoughts. He didn’t need to go there.

“I said, she asked me about you the other day. She told me she misses you.” He missed her too. It’s just that whenever he looked into those pale eyes, he saw him. The way he used to look at him. The day they first kissed. When he took his virginity and those pale eyes stared down at him, promising things they had no business promising.

“I miss her too,” he said honestly. He closed his eyes and finished off his beer. Damn it, he hated thinking about those times. He hated remembering.

“How about we double then?” Sakura spoke up, her tone bubbly and excited as if she’d just had the brightest idea of the year.

“Double? You know I’m gay right?”

Sakura chuckled, “No shit. You know what I meant. Plus, I miss you too, you know? I never get to see you and we go to the same university for crying out loud.” She was right. Even though all of her classes were in the School of Medicine building while his were in the Liberal Arts building, they still went to the same school and the buildings weren’t too far from each other. Hinata went to Sunagakura, which just allowed him a better excuse when he was feeling too awkward to see her.

“Fine.” He conceded. “You’re right. We can double, I guess.” He rolled his eyes at the idea.

“Yay! I’m so excited. I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.” It might as well have been. The last time he’d seen her was a month ago. Spending most of his time at his dad’s meant less time in the city where most of his friends were.

“It’s a date then.”

“It’s a date.”

 

* * *

 

Friday turned to Saturday and Naruto was on his way to work. He was still in his comfortably tight jeans but changed into the clean black work shirt he’d kept in his apartment. He’d left the one from the night before at his dad’s. This one was just a tee shirt with the full words “CLUB LOCUST” written in bold white letters across his chest. It was a tight shirt that clung to his body like a second skin. He preferred to wear the collar shirt more because, while the tee shirt gave him more tips, it also drew in more douchebags who were looking for something he wasn’t willing to offer.

It was 12:30am when he’d finally made it into Shinjuku where Club Locust resided. A line had already formed at the door and was quickly wrapping around the corner. At 12:45am he banged on the door. Seconds later it swung open revealing a burly looking man with a mean face.

“Sup Naruto, you’re early.” The bouncer stepped to the side and opened the door up just enough for Naruto to slip through. He quickly shut the door once Naruto was in to make sure no one got stupid and tried to slip through with him.

“Hey Kisame.” Naruto nodded at the much larger man as he passed him and went towards the stairs.

By the time he’d settled behind the bar on the second floor the music was pumping and people were getting stamped and heading in. Saturdays were great for tips, but were damn exhausting.

When it hit 4am, most of the patrons were at their peak. They were dancing with people they didn’t know, grinding and leaning on strangers, throwing their arms in the air and enjoying being alive. Naruto smiled out at the crowd, only seeing them through the colors of the flashing lights. They were all going to have killer headaches once morning came and the alcohol is drained from their systems. He couldn’t remember the number of shots he’d poured in the last hour alone.

While he was shaking up a margarita for a pretty, redheaded American girl, a new patron moved in his peripheral. He looked over in time to see a familiar, tall man take a seat at the bar. Naruto tried not to look as surprised as he felt. Throughout the course of the day, Naruto had managed to push the man from the previous morning out of his mind. He hardly expected the man to take him up on his offer. And here he was, staring back into those dark, mysterious eyes. 

Naruto slid closer to the man's side of the bar and placed a small napkin down in front of him.

“So,” Naruto smiled to himself as he spoke before his eyes drifted up from the napkin to meet the familiar stranger’s. He leaned against the bar on his elbows, “You decided to come.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter! After all the work I've been putting into this story, it really means a lot if you enjoyed it. I hope you'll review and let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions to the story, I'd like to hear them. I'm constantly making changes to chapters so I'd like to see how the story is coming across.
> 
> Next chapter will be out next Saturday! So, if you enjoyed this one, I hope you'll look forward to that~
> 
> Thank you all again, and see you next week!


	2. Sasuke Uchiha

"So... you decided to come," Naruto said with a goofy smile on his face. 

The man met his eyes, but to Naruto's disappointment, he hadn't responded to his obvious statement. Naruto wondered if he hadn't because the answer was, in fact, obvious.

“Get me a glass of whiskey.” The man finally said.

“Whiskey?” Naruto felt himself blushing for no good reason. The man's voice really was doing things to him he couldn't quite describe. “Any preference?” He tried to sound normal.

“Nothing sweet.” Naruto nodded.

After pouring the man's drink he leaned over the bar to hand it over. The man grabbed it, his fingers grazing Naruto’s. Naruto jerked back. The man looked up at him, raising an eyebrow at Naruto’s skittish behavior before taking a sip of the hard liquor.

Naruto walked off to help another customer. He didn’t know what to make of this guy.

He tried not to think too much on it as he tended to more and more clubbers. A few minutes passed and his eyes landed back on the mysterious man sitting at his bar. He walked over and poked the man’s hand that was idly turning the mostly empty glass. When those dark eyes looked up at him, he gulped, feeling nervous, but gave his best smile.

“Did you get your shirt taken care of?" He asked, because fuck if he knew if there was something better to talk about. The man simply nodded, and Naruto honestly hadn't expected more. Naruto's eyes rolled upwards and around, as if he was searching for something else to say and perhaps it was somewhere around the bar where he could reach out and grab it. "Sorry again..." The man looked up from his drink. "About the coffee and…your shirt." He knew he was making things awkward.

"Hn," the man shrugged and took the last sip of his whiskey. Naruto couldn't place the feeling that was coming over him. He was obviously attracted to the man, and for some reason it was causing him to act like a fifteen-year-old who's never gotten his dick sucked. He realized the man probably thought he was just some stupid kid. He didn't look much older, but his demeanor proved to Naruto that he was at least five or six years his senior.

Naruto turned away when he heard a voice call out to him. It was a young man wearing a neon tank top. He went about making drinks for him and his friends. After finishing the last drink Naruto worked on mixing up something special. He pulled out a new, clean mixer and poured in cinnamon mix, Angostura bitters, Pastis, and Rye Whiskey inside. He shook it up well before pouring it into a glass with ice and sliding it over to the mysterious man.

The man eyed the drink placed in front of him. Hesitating, he rose the glass to his lips and took a small sip. He tasted it for a bit and looked like he was thinking it over before speaking, “It's too sweet”. Naruto grinned at the man, ignoring his comment, and turned away to take care of the group of newcomers that approached his bar. 

Once that little rush was over, Naruto went back over, his blue eyes daring to meet those piercing dark orbs. “So, can I get a name now?”

“Hn,” The man nodded and took another sip of his too-sweet drink. “Sasuke” he finally answered and Naruto nodded.

“So what are you doing here so late, Sasuke?” Technically it was early. It was nearing 5am now. Naruto went over to refill someone’s draft. The bar was growing thinner by now. Most of the customers started to dwindle away around this time. When Naruto came back he rested his elbows on the bar and leaned forward a bit. Sasuke took another sip of his drink and shrugged.

“I came when I was free. I assumed the offer still stood.” That was the most he'd heard come from the man's, or rather, Sasuke's mouth and he felt himself physically being drawn closer to him as he spoke. It was as if each word held a gravitational quality to it.

“Come for a little stress relief, huh?” Naruto grinned again, feeling cheeky for reasons he couldn’t quite explain.

Sasuke’s dark eyes raked down Naruto’s body. It was the first time Naruto saw something other than boredom in those dark eyes and it made his cheeks feel warm. Sasuke took another sip before he spoke, “Something like that.”

Hearing that made Naruto's face heat up all the way to his ears. He turned and began grabbing empty glasses from the bar along with the bills that lay beside them. He went over to the register and put in a few orders, pocketing the tips.

Naruto bit his lip as he did his best to ignore the dark-haired man, Sasuke, sitting at his bar. He could feel those cold eyes on him. He wasn't quite sure where this was going. What's more, he wasn't sure if he was ready for where he thought it may be going. 

He took some time to busy himself with other tasks to clear his head. Sasuke didn’t seem like he was in any rush to go anywhere. Naruto wiped down the bar and collected more used glasses. When it didn’t seem like anyone new was going to order anything, Naruto went over to close the register. Typing in a few numbers he opened the drawer and discreetly counted the money. Two counts later he sat the money back in and locked it.

Once he was finished Naruto turned around to face Sasuke and cleared his throat. He walked back over and leaned against the bar on his elbows as he did before. Looking over, he caught sight of some drunken guy he’d served five whiskey shots to smiling at him. Naruto grinned, waving to the man goodbye as he watched him turn and stumble down the stairs. The lights turned on. It was 5:30am. Even though the club was technically open until 6am, it was only to give the workers enough time to kick everyone out. Naruto smiled and pointed up. “Party’s over.” He grabbed Sasuke’s glass and, without thinking, he swallowed the last of the drink. He pretended not to notice the way Sasuke watched him, and placed the empty glass under the bar along with the rest of the dirty dishes.

Without warning, Sasuke got up from his stool. Naruto looked up at him.

As Sasuke turned to leave, Naruto spoke up, “Where're you heading now? Got work soon?” He turned and used the register to punch out then rounded the bar to where Sasuke stood. He hadn’t brought anything to work with him aside from his phone, wallet, house keys and cigarettes, which were all snug in his back and front pockets.

Sasuke looked down at Naruto as he came to stand beside him. He gave Naruto a look like he wanted to strip him and swallow him whole. Naruto's swallowed in return. He was ashamed to admit that apart of him wouldn’t mind this Sasuke guy eating him up the way his eyes told him he wanted to.

“I don’t work on Saturdays.” He leaned closer to Naruto and smirked, his eyes narrowed, “Gives me the time I need to relieve that stress you mentioned.” Naruto felt a devilish shiver run up his spine. Sasuke moved away and for a moment Naruto was too stunned to realize what had just happened.

Quickly snapping out of it, Naruto followed Sasuke down the stairs and out of the building. He waved goodbye to a few coworkers he recognized, but didn’t know by name. The last person he saw was the very tired looking bouncer, Kisame. Saturday shifts were the worst when it comes to how many underage idiots tried to sneak in with their shitty fake IDs. He felt sorry for the man.

“Later Kisame,” Naruto waved with a sympathetic smile. The bouncer made a gruff noise and gave a nod in return.

Outside, the sun was rising and the sky was a pale blue and orange. Naruto pulled his pack of cigarettes out as he usually did after a long shift and placed one between his lips. Closing his eyes he lit the cigarette and inhaled. When he opened his eyes again Sasuke was already walking off without him. Naruto wondered if he should follow. This was such a bad idea, but at the same time…

Naruto looked behind him in the direction leading to the train station, then back at Sasuke who was just about to round the corner out of the alleyway. Naruto scratched the back of his head, took another long drag of his cigarette and tossed it onto the ground before jogging after him.

They walked side by side for about a minute or so. Neither said a word. Two blocks later and they were entering a parking garage and, soon after, approaching a sleek black sports car. Sasuke walked around the car to the driver’s side and got in. Again, Naruto had to wonder if this was the right thing to do. Well hell, he knew it wasn’t the _right_ thing to do. But, was he willing to take the risk?

The car’s engine revved. Naruto had no doubt that Sasuke was willing to drive off and leave him standing there.

“Fuck it,” Naruto finally decided. He opened the passenger side’s door and plopped into the seat. As soon as his seat belt was buckled Sasuke put the car into reverse and backed out of the parking space.

The entire ride was silent. Naruto was forced to stare out the window. The least the guy could do was put on the radio. Naruto was feeling too nervous to ask. He’d never been home with a stranger before, let alone a customer of his. He’d never even slept with anyone other than Neji. They’d started dating when he was fifteen. Back then they were both virgins. A year after they started dating, Neji finally asked him if they could give it a try. Naruto was terrified. But, he agreed because he was stupidly in love.

Look where that got him?

He grit his teeth and shook his head, as if the thoughts would come tumbling out of his ears. He crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his exposed arms. Sasuke reached out and turned a knob to raise the temperature. Naruto watched him from the corner of his eye, but didn’t say anything.

Ten minutes later they arrived at a tall building in the center of the Tokyo Business District. Naruto did well to stop himself from gawking at it when they pulled up. Sasuke parked his car at the entrance and got out. Naruto quickly scurried out after him. Sasuke handed his keys to the doorman as he walked by. Naruto tried not to look skittish as he followed him inside the elegant building. He even waved awkwardly at the doorman who returned it as if he’d never been waved to before in his life. Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, too tempted to touch all the shiny statues and accents, afraid that if he did he would set off some type of burglar alarm. He settled on letting his eyes roam over everything as he passed. There were a few people up, obviously business people or their spouses hanging around the lobby on their expensive phones and laptops. He even saw an older woman carrying a small dog around in her purse the way they did in those American movies.

When they’d stopped in front of the elevator, Naruto felt his nerves bubbling up again. Anxiety was twisting and pulling at his insides making him feel mildly nauseous. He was acting like a fifteen-year-old again. It was both irritating and exhilarating.

The doors opened and Sasuke stepped inside first. Again, it felt as if Naruto could just stand there and Sasuke would have no problem letting the doors close right in his face. He didn’t make a move to hold them open when he saw Naruto hesitate.

Swallowing down some of his nerves, Naruto stepped forward into the elevator and turned to watch the doors close. Naruto’s eyes followed Sasuke’s hand as it reached out and pressed the button to the seventeenth floor. The ride was agonizingly slow. He wondered if it was too late to back out.

When the doors opened Naruto made to step out but Sasuke stopped him, placing a strong hand on his chest. Two women entered. One was wearing a pantsuit while the other wore a short dress and a blazer. Naruto looked up at the number lit up over the doors. They were on the ninth floor. He looked over at Sasuke who wasn’t even looking at him and simply lowered his arm. He huffed, feeling a bit embarrassed, but deciding it was better to just relax.

“Good morning Uchiha-san,” the woman in the pantsuit spoke. Both women gave small bows in greeting. _Uchiha, huh?_ Naruto thought the name over, feeling like he'd heard it before.

“Hn,” Sasuke nodded at the women. They rode up to the eleventh floor and gave small waves as they left. Their eyes hadn’t even landed on Naruto. It was as if he didn’t exist. In retrospect, he likely didn’t in their little world of diamond rings, vacation homes and clothes that could easily fund all four years of his University fees.

“Moron,” Sasuke teased once the women were gone. Naruto shot him a glare, but didn’t retaliate.

Finally, the elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor and Sasuke got off first. Naruto followed him down the hall to the last door that read 1709. Sasuke typed in a succession of numbers in the keypad and a light click sounded. He twisted the knob and led the way in. Naruto closed the door behind him, toeing off his shoes along with Sasuke and setting them by the door.

The posh, sleek apartment didn’t surprise him. He’d had enough clues to know that he wasn’t going to walk into some dump. The furniture was all black leathers and rustic woods. Large paintings decorated the walls. Naruto wondered if they were authentic; must have cost a fortune. The carpet was a plush, dusty gray color; the coffee table in the middle of the living room was a rich brown and made of a jagged cut out slice of mahogany. To top it off, there was a larger than life TV mounted on the wall of exposed brick directly across from the long leather sofa.

Sasuke walked further into the apartment, tossing his jacket over the back of the couch as he made his way into the kitchen. Naruto watched him go, his eyes focusing on those Sasuke's hands as they worked to roll up the cuffs of his collar shirt until they were folded just above his elbows. A bar separated the kitchen and the living room. Naruto stepped up and slid onto one of the stools. Sasuke pulled out two wine glasses from a top cupboard, then an unopened bottle of red wine from one of two wine cabinets below him. As Sasuke popped the cork from the bottle, the irony was not lost on Naruto.

He bounced anxiously in his seat, hoping he didn’t look prepubescent, but far too filled with nerves to keep still.

“Are you nervous?” Sasuke finally spoke, his dark eyes slid up to examine the skittish blond as he finished pouring the first glass and moved on to the next.

Naruto glared at him. Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a small, deep chuckle as he finished pouring the second glass. “Shut up,” Naruto pouted, crossing his arms and looking away. Sasuke shook his head and slid one of the glasses over. He held his glass up in a half-toast, before taking a sip. His eyes went down again, looking over Naruto’s body like it was a slab of meat.

Naruto cleared his throat, taking a sip of the bitter wine. He scrunched his nose at the taste. He hated this fancy shit. If it wasn’t beer, milk or orange juice, it really wasn’t worth drinking.

He could feel Sasuke watching him, so he forced himself to drink a little bit more before looking around the apartment once again. “So, how old are you?” The question had been nagging at the back of his mind for quite some time.

Sasuke took another sip, his intense gaze never leaving Naruto even as his blond companion feigned disinterest. “I’m thirty-two,” he took another sip. Naruto looked back at Sasuke, his eyebrows raised as he took in the answer.

After swallowing a good amount of the bitter liquid, not wanting to waste something that was likely expensive enough to pay his electricity bill, Naruto let out a long, low whistle. “Thirty-two? Wow, that’s twelve years over me.” Naruto said more to himself than to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded, though seemed genuinely uninterested. He placed his half empty glass onto the counter and moved around the bar to where Naruto sat. Naruto rotated his body in the stool, placing his glass next to Sasuke’s as his eyes and body followed Sasuke’s movements.

In seconds, Sasuke was in front of him. His strong arms reached out and held onto the counter behind Naruto. Naruto could feel his skin getting warm from their close proximity. Sasuke took a small step closer and Naruto had no choice but to open his legs so that Sasuke’s body could fit between them.

Naruto was feeling a little woozy from the wine. He knew he'd drank it a bit too fast. Another reason why Naruto preferred beer over any other alcohol was his weak tolerance to anything over five percent. Regardless, it did help calm his nerves a bit. On the other hand, Naruto couldn’t help but be a little impressed. He’d fed Sasuke two shots at the bar along with his special concoction and Sasuke’d also drank a considerable amount of wine, yet he didn’t look the slightest bit tipsy. Maybe it was all that muscle. Naruto found himself staring down at Sasuke’s shirt, the way it clung to his body; how he could make out even the smallest curves of his muscles this close up.

Naruto looked back up, snapping himself out of his gawking to meet Sasuke’s amused eyes.

“I take it you like what you see?” The words only held the slightest bit of humor. He said it the same way a waiter would ask if their guest liked what was on the desert menu. Naruto hated how that deep voice had him stirring in his jeans that weren’t so comfortably tight anymore. Naruto cleared his throat and glared up at Sasuke for being cocky.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re obnoxious?”

Sasuke shrugged, as if taking the question seriously, he answered, “No.” Then his lips dipped down and caught Naruto’s by surprise. It sent a light shock of electricity through Naruto’s chest to the pit of his stomach. Instinct pulled Naruto’s hands toward Sasuke’s chest, allowing them to run up smooth muscles before wrapping his arms around Sasuke’s neck, effectively pulling him closer. One of Sasuke’s hands had a firm hold on his back, while another trailed south, cupping Naruto’s ass and yanking him forward. A gasp from Naruto briefly disconnected their lips and Sasuke took the opportunity to lightly bite down on Naruto’s exposed lower lip. A throaty moan vibrated from Naruto as his eyes rolled back. His body was tingling from the friction between them and their grinding erections. Naruto’s legs seemed to wrap around Sasuke on their own, as if they had no other choice. He needed to feel more.

Sasuke all but sensed his thoughts. One hand went down between Naruto’s legs and began undoing the zipper of Naruto’s jeans. Sasuke broke the kiss, leaving a trail of nips, licks and kisses down Naruto’s throat as he worked on pulling Naruto’s jeans off. Forced to break apart, Naruto lifted his butt so that Sasuke could get his jeans past his hips. Then, with one quick yank, Sasuke had claimed both his boxers and his jeans and tossed them to the side. Next he grabbed the hem of Naruto’s shirt and pulled it over his head, carelessly dropping it to the floor with the rest of his discarded clothes.

Naruto couldn’t help but feel a little shy now, being the only one so completely naked. His hands wrapped around to cover parts of himself and to his surprise, Sasuke, the man who seemed colder than ice, gave him a reassuring smile.

Sasuke leaned forward, cupping his cheek in one hand to bring his face up for another kiss. This one was slower than the first, less needy but more deep and languid. Sasuke took time to explore Naruto’s mouth. His tasted him, smoothing his tongue against Naruto’s; eliciting a slew of soft moans and shivers from Naruto. Sasuke ran his hands down Naruto’s back to his ass, finally able to grab it the way he’d wanted to when he’d first seen Naruto bend over behind the Club Locust bar to get a drink form some drunk nobody. He squeezed both cheeks and gave the right one a hard slap. Naruto jumped, gasped and nearly crumbled in his arms.

Naruto reached down and grabbed at Sasuke’s belt. Sasuke broke the kiss and allowed Naruto to undress him. His face showing no real emotion, but his eyes, those beautifully narrowed eyes, were filled with an incredible amount of lust. It had Naruto reeling.

After a few failed attempts due to his shaky hands, Naruto was finally able to get the belt off. He slid it out of the loops of Sasuke’s pants and threw it to the side. Clearly Sasuke wasn’t concerned about tossed clothes in his uppity apartment, so he wouldn’t be either. He next went for Sasuke’s shirt, unbuttoning it one by one. Sasuke was torturing him. He didn’t lift a single finger to help. Even if Naruto messed up, he just stared and waited patiently.

Once the last button was undone, Naruto slide the shirt off and let it fall to the floor. His eyes focused on the hard body presented to him. He couldn’t help but run his hands down the taunt muscles, his eyes temporarily mesmerized. He looked up at Sasuke, who remained still and silent, allowing Naruto to do as he pleased. That look in his eyes…

Naruto looked away, feeling overwhelmed. He reached down and unbuttoned Sasuke’s slacks and next pulling down the zipper. When he pushed down the pants he couldn’t help the audible gulp as he started down at Sasuke’s tight black boxer briefs. His erection was large, very hard and pressing tightly against the fabric. How was it possible to be this painfully hard and look that calm?

Naruto pulled Sasuke closer, wrapping his legs back around those strong hips. Sasuke finally moved, one arm encircling Naruto while he used his other hand to take hold of Naruto’s erection. Naruto’s eyes grew wide. He threw his head back, “Fuck,” he breathed the word out then made a choked noise as Sasuke stroked him at an irritatingly slow pace. “Sasuke, please,” he whimpered. He hadn’t even known he had it in him. He’d never sounded this desperate when he was with Neji. Though admittedly, Neji had never driven him to this point before. With him, the sex had always been quick and to the point.

“Be patient,” Sasuke said, almost sounding like he was scolding him, then dipped his head down to suck at a tender spot on Naruto’s neck. He reached down and grabbed the underside of one of Naruto’s thighs and pulled him closer.

Naruto grabbed at the sides of Sasuke’s briefs and pulled them down. He pushed his body closer, craving more friction.

Sasuke let out a low growl, their erections forced together. He grabbed their dicks in his hand and continued his slow stroking. Naruto didn’t know if he wanted him to speed up or not anymore. The pleasure was becoming too much. He felt his head getting foggier as they kept going. He was so lost in the moment, he couldn’t even bring himself to feel embarrassed anymore at the soft mewls, moans and general throat noises that escaped him.

Sasuke’s lips found their way back to his and they sucked and nipped at each other, both lost in the feeling between their legs.

“Sasuke,” Naruto spoke against his lips, nearly choking as he felt his stomach clenching. “Sasuke I’m cuming.” He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back. He didn’t want it to end just yet.

But then, just as he thought he was going to last a bit longer, Sasuke leaned forward and whispered into his ear. “Do it, Naruto.”

“Fuck!” Naruto cried out, his orgasm hitting him so sudden and hard. Sasuke continued to stroke them both until it seemed Naruto had been milked dry. “Shit,” Naruto breathed out and leaned back lazily against the counter. He’d almost forgot that they were still in the kitchen.

Sasuke reached behind him and grabbed the roll of paper towels there. He tore off a few sheets and wiped up mess between them before tossing the used paper towel somewhere within the pile of clothes.

Sasuke smirked down at him, pulling him in for another languid kiss. Naruto sighed into his mouth, completely lost in the moment. A few seconds in and Sasuke pulled away, taking Naruto with him. Sliding off of the stool, Naruto was tugged through the elegant home down a short hallway that led to a master bedroom. Sasuke pushed the door open then lightly tugged Naruto in. The room was large and sparse. A king-sized bed took over the center of the room. There wasn’t much to look at. A few professional photographs were framed and hanging on the walls. The color scheme was much like the living room: grays, blacks and chocolate. There was a TV mounted on the wall opposite of the bed, double doors that likely led to a closet Naruto could fit his entire room in and a single door that was likely the bathroom.

As he observed his surroundings, he allowed himself to be turned around until he was face to face with Sasuke’s devilishly handsome face. They kissed again almost immediately, frantically wrapping their arms around each other. Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s thighs and hoisted him up, surprising Naruto but not enough to break their kiss. He carried him over to the bed where he dumped him before crawling on top of him to claim those plump lips again.

Naruto arched his back, his dick fully erect again. He thrust against Sasuke’s hip, encouraging Sasuke to come closer and increase the friction. Sasuke obliged, grabbing Naruto’s hips and rocking their bodies together. Naruto threw his head back and Sasuke took the opportunity to bite a particularly delicious section of Naruto’s neck.

“Oh God,” Naruto croaked, using one hand to cover part of his face. He was starting to feel light headed. Sasuke leaned back, inspecting his breathless wonton form for a moment before he reached above Naruto’s head into his nightstand.

Sasuke sat up once he’d retrieved a bottle of lube and a condom. He placed the condom between his lips before opening the bottle and squirting a considerable amount onto his fingers. He sat the bottle on the bed beside them and lifted one of Naruto’s legs with his dry hand. With the other he smoothed the cool liquid over Naruto’s entrance before slipping a finger inside.

Naruto hissed at the feeling, arching his back and turning his head away at the pain.

“Been a long time?” Sasuke spoke, his voice sounding calm as he slowly slid his finger in and out. The hand holding up Naruto’s leg softened its grip and began rubbing his thigh, somehow effectively soothing some of the pain.

“A year,” Naruto grit the words out before letting out a long shuddering breath.

Sasuke’s eyes grew the slightest bit wide at the new bit of knowledge, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he slipped another lubed finger inside. Naruto cursed under his breath, wiggling around in discomfort. Sasuke eyed him carefully, slowly pushing in before he rotated and bent his fingers in different directions, searching for that certain spot.

“Shit,” Naruto felt his eyes watering. His erection was slowly fading. He hadn’t known after so long he’d gotten so tight. It was beginning to feel like his first time all over again. Except this time Sasuke had found it _._ With a light thrust of his fingers, Naruto jumped and sucked in a large breath. Sasuke smirked down and licked his lips at Naruto’s wide-eyed expression. He pulled out and drove his fingers in again, making sure to hit that same spot that made Naruto squirm and cry out under him.

Naruto’s hands reached up and grabbed Sasuke’s arms. His head lulled from side to side as if he was delirious. Sasuke was relentless. He ruthlessly fucked him with his fingers, making Naruto scream each time his fingers went in all the way to abuse that same spot. Soon he had three fingers in, stretching and teasing Naruto’s entrance until it felt loose enough to enter.

When Sasuke pulled his fingers out Naruto was panting and sweaty. He stared up at Sasuke with half-lidded eyes and parted lips.

“Sasuke…” he whimpered. Sasuke grabbed the condom from his lips and leaned forward to join Naruto in a sensual kiss before leaning back to prepare himself. He ripped the condom wrapper open with his teeth, absently smacking Naruto’s hands away when he tried to jerk himself off as he waited.

“Be patient,” Sasuke said. Naruto glared up at him, but admittedly, it didn’t look very menacing when he was lying naked beneath him with his legs spread open.

Sasuke slowly slid the condom on then reached for the lube again. He squirted a little more into his hand then spread the liquid onto himself. A few strokes later he was aligning himself with Naruto’s entrance. He pressed the head of his cock against Naruto’s hole, moving slowly, agonizingly.

Naruto’s eyes shut tightly as he squirmed. Despite all of his moving, Naruto didn’t seem like he was in much pain, so Sasuke gradually pushed himself all the way in. Naruto grit his teeth and finally opened his eyes to look up at Sasuke. He didn’t ask, but Naruto nodded, assuring him that he was okay. Sasuke pulled out all the way before snapping his hips forward. In one fell swoop he slammed against Naruto’s prostate and Naruto let out a surprised yelp. With the urge to draw more of those delicious noises from his blond companion, Sasuke’s pace increased to an incredible speed. He was pulling all the way out and thrusting all the way in, burying himself fully inside of him.

Naruto felt like he could see stars. His body was shaking and convulsing underneath Sasuke’s. He couldn’t remember ever feeling like this. Had Neji been able to give him this much pleasure? Had Neji made him feel like he was losing control of himself? He didn’t even know it was possible for sex to feel this good until now.

Sasuke suddenly pulled out and flipped Naruto over, propping him on his hands and knees. Naruto was confused for a moment before he felt Sasuke’s hands on his hips and then his dick pushing into him again. Naruto let out a surprised gasp and gripped the covers beneath him, crying out each time Sasuke slammed into him. It was too much. His head felt dizzy. Any minute now and he was going to…

“Sasuke, I’m gonna cum,” he didn’t even recognize his voice. One of Sasuke’s hands gripped Naruto’s hips tighter while the other held down Naruto’s lower back. His hips snapped forward at a much faster pace. “Oh fuck!”

“Come on, Naruto,” Sasuke purred above him. Damn it, he was doing it again. Naruto clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth. Sasuke pulled Naruto up right, forcing them both to sit up straight as he continued to drive his dick inside of him hard and fast. With his lips next to Naruto’s ear, Sasuke spoke again in a husky tone “Naruto.” It was the first Naruto had heard even the slightest bit of desire in Sasuke’s voice. It had his eyes rolling to the back of his head as his release built up. The new position made it easier for Sasuke to hit his prostate and it made Naruto's body tingle all over. With a low, almost feral cry, Naruto reached his orgasm, spilling all over his stomach, while some dripped down onto his leg.

Sasuke wasn’t far behind. It only took a few more sharp thrusts before he released himself.

They both all but crumbled down onto the bed, breathing hard and unable to move.

It took a couple minutes for Sasuke to regain his composure enough to pull out of Naruto. He rolled over to the end of the bed and got up, disappearing in the room Naruto had earlier suspected was the bathroom.

Naruto watched him go through heavy eyelids. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. Should he leave? Was Sasuke going to kick him out? Was it bad that he just wanted to lie on this expensive mattress and pass out?

He heard the water running. He knew he should probably get up and get dressed, but he was just too damn tired. Looking over to the nightstand, he got a glimpse of the clock. It was already past 7AM. Sasuke returned to the room and Naruto felt his body stiffen. He watched as Sasuke silently walked over to his dresser, unashamed of his nudity. Why should he be? They’d done enough together to not have that type of insecurity. Even so, Naruto felt the urge to cover his curled up naked body with the bed sheets. He didn’t, however, only because he didn’t want to assume he wasn’t going to get kicked out.

Sasuke pulled out a fresh pair of black boxer briefs and slipped them on. Next he went to the bed and pulled up the covers on one side. Getting in, he didn’t say a word as he lay on his stomach.

Naruto sat up, wincing a bit  (damn his ass hurt) and stared down at the lump under the covers that was once Sasuke.

“Erm,” Naruto scratched his chin, ignoring the dull ache in his ass and hips.

“You don’t have to leave if you’re tired,” Sasuke spoke, his words a bit slurred, but still clear.

Naruto blinked at him. A part of him wanted to decline, but a greater part of him felt too tired from lack of sleep, a full day of work and unexpected sex with a stranger. Naruto yawned as the thought of sleep fully settled on his mind. “Thanks,” he finally said. Sasuke didn’t reply. Naruto assumed he was sleeping.

Naruto joined him under the covers; though the bed was so large they weren’t even close to touching.

What a strange night and morning it had been. Naruto tried hard not to think over what he’d done with the man in bed with him just moments ago. He tried even harder not to grin when he thought about it. It wasn’t long before sleep overcame him and he drifted off into a dreamless abyss.

 

* * *

 

Naruto woke up several hours later feeling horrible. His ass, back and thighs ached terribly and there was a dull pain in his head. To top it all off, he had cottonmouth. The only silver lining was the feathery sheets hugging his sore body and plush mattress underneath him. He shifted crankily in bed a few times, before stretching out. He felt a few bones in his back and neck pop and he let out a long breath in relief. It didn’t fix much, but he felt good enough to sit up, so he did.

He rubbed a sluggish hand over his eyes as he searched for the alarm clock he’d remembered seeing before he passed out. The time on it was now 3:38pm. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head, again feeling something pop back into place.

As if he’d just remembered, he snapped his head to the other side of the bed only to see that it was empty. Puzzled, he continued to take in the vaguely familiar room. He noticed something neatly folded at the end of the bed and his phone, which was sitting on top of the pile. He crawled closer to it and picked at it. They were his clothes. He tapped on his phone and cursed under his breath. It was dead.

He picked the pile of clothes up and sniffed them. The fresh smell of lavender made his eyes widen. It seemed like they’d been washed. That included his boxers. His cheeks felt warm as he imagined Sasuke cleaning his underwear. Strange.

With the realization that he couldn’t lay in this bed naked all day, Naruto got up, albeit stiffly, and pulled on his clothes. His socks had been washed as well. He didn’t even remember taking them off.

It took a lot of strength to keep from limping as he approached the door. He peeked out, looking both ways. He could hear the TV on in the living room. He could also smell something meaty cooking. The smell made his stomach turn happily at the thought of food. How long had it been since he’d eaten anything?

Once he’d made it to the open space of the living room he noticed an unfamiliar man in a suit and apron standing in the kitchen stirring up that delicious smelling concoction with a spatula. Sasuke was sitting on the couch in the living room. He looked clean and refreshed. He was already fully dressed in black slacks, a steel gray button up, and black socks covered with dark navy daytime house slippers. He had a thick Rolex on his left wrist and he switched between checking the time and flipping the pages in the morning paper. A steaming cup of black coffee smoked on the coffee table in front of him.

“Good morning,” a smooth voice said to him from the kitchen. It was the man he didn’t recognize. He was slender with short black hair. He wore a wide smile, but the friendliness in his expression didn’t meet his empty eyes. It was a little creepy.

“Uh… hey.” Naruto looked between the man and Sasuke. Sasuke hadn’t even bothered to look up at him. It was awkward and it made him squirm.

“I’m glad to see you found your clothes okay. Would you like something to eat before you take off?” The man cocked his head to the side; again with that creepy smile.

“Uh…” Naruto didn’t know what to say. Sasuke still hadn’t moved from his position, simply flipping to the next page in the paper as if he wasn’t there. Naruto’s eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at the back of his head. _Fucking asshole_. He huffed. He knew he shouldn’t have expected anything. Hell, he didn’t even know what he _was_ expecting. “No thanks,” he’d completely lost his appetite. “I’ll just leave.”

“Very well,” the man sat the spatula aside and all but ushered Naruto to the door. Naruto’s eyes never left the back of Sasuke’s head. He could at least say something. Anything. What type of prick fucks a guy and doesn’t even at least look at him? Naruto looked away to slip on his shoes. Anger was boiling up inside of him. This was a stupid idea. He knew he’d regret it.

“Asshole,” he grumbled, loud enough that he knew Sasuke would be able to hear. The strange man in the suit didn’t seem bothered by his language or foul mood and simply opened the door for him.

“Travel safe.”

“Fuck off,” Naruto snapped, and just like that he was gone. The apartment door was shut behind him. He turned and stared at it. If his ass didn’t hurt so badly he may not have believed what had happened the night before. In a sudden lapse of judgment, Naruto sent a hard kick to the door and shouted, “Prick!” Before stalking off.

It wasn’t that he was expecting anything more than a one-night fling from the guy. But, he didn’t have to treat him like he was some piece of trash for his weirdo, creepy servants to take care of.

He hated how awkward he felt leaving the expensive apartment building and how there were a lot more people at this time of day mulling around who stared at him as he left.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! Thank you so much for your support so far. I hope you enjoyed this update. I'd love to know what you all thought about Chapter 2! I'm excited to see how you all react. 
> 
> Please look forward to the next chapter! It will be up next Saturday.
> 
> I hope that you'll all see this story through till the end :)


	3. Stupid Pudding

After leaving Sasuke’s place Naruto decided to forgo public transportation. The business district wasn’t too far from his campus, so he pulled out his cigarettes and walked the thirty minutes it took for him to get to his apartment. Seven cigarettes later he’d made it to the slightly run-down building. When he reached the fourth floor and turned the corner that lead to his apartment he nearly turned back and made a run for it.

Sakura was sitting with her back to his door. When she sensed his presence she turned to him with angry, red eyes. He could swear he saw smoke blow from her little nostrils. “Naruto,” she seethed and stood up. Naruto gave her his best grin as he moved towards his apartment. She waited for him to unlock the door and let them both in. She carefully took off her shoes, contemplating for a moment if she should use them as weapons.

Once they were inside and the door was closed she let loose, “You fuckwit! Where the hell were you? Do you have any, and I mean **_any_** idea how fucking WORRIED I was?”

“I’m sorry!” He pleaded and kicked off his shoes before cautiously approaching his fuming friend. He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed up and down to soothe her temper. “I’m really sorry. My phone died and I had a… really long night.” He felt his temper flair a bit at the thought of that bastard, Sasuke.

Sakura’s eyes softened at his tired expression. She sighed and walked over to the couch to collapse. She’d spent so many hours thinking her best friend was dead that now she was completely worn out. Sure, sometimes Naruto wouldn’t answer his phone or a text, but his phone sent read receipts so she always knew that, at the very least, he was alive. Plus his phone rarely ever went straight to voicemail. When she’d called his dad and heard he wasn’t there she panicked and thought the worst. She’d been sitting outside his apartment for the past four hours in the fetal position.

“Urgh!” She laid back and covered her face with both hands. “I swear you’re going to be the death of me one day,” she grumbled and Naruto smiled down at her. He walked around the couch and lifted her feet, sat down in the empty spot then placed her feet in his lap. She let her hands fall to her chest and glared up at Naruto. “Well, what happened?”

“What?” Naruto’s cheeks grew warm. He looked away, “Oh.”

“Oh? Oh what?” Sakura sat up. She tried to contain the grin that was tugging at the corners of her lips. Naruto’s shy expression told her that there was something juicy he had to spill.

“It’s nothing.”

“Bullshit!” She called it, pushing him lightly. “Spill it. I think I deserve that much after you nearly gave me a damn ulcer waiting for you.”

Naruto smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head. “Eh, well… I met this guy…”

“You met a guy?” Sakura’s eyes grew wide. She grinned and did a cute little dance. “Oh, what’s he like?” She asked as if she was in grade school asking her friend about the boy with the cute cooties.

Naruto frowned, his eyes narrowing as he thought over the past hour. “It's not like I’ll be seeing him ever again.” He grumbled and Sakura immediately deflated.

“What happened?”

Naruto shrugged. “We uh… had sex. To be honest, I’ve never had sex like this before. I mean…fuck,” he ran a hand over his face and through his hair. “But it was just a one-night thing. He made that pretty clear.” He rolled his eyes and huffed.

“You had sex with some random guy?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes, and before you ask doctor, we did use protection.” He rolled his eyes and Sakura smiled.

“Oh, shut up! You don’t know what I was gonna say.” She pouted at him and Naruto quickly kissed her lips, making her cover her mouth. She gasped “You dick!” Naruto grinned and got up from the couch before Sakura’s swinging hand could make dangerous contact. He danced around, taunting her and making obnoxious noises. “You brat!” She squawked, jumping from the couch and chasing after him.

They laughed, jumped over things and grabbed at each other. The talk about the one night stand was thrown aside for some juvenile horseplay. Sasuke wasn’t worth being irritated over. Naruto knew that thinking a quick sexual encounter like that could possibly lead to anything was unrealistic. If Sasuke was going to disregard what happened, then so would he.

Naruto jumped out the way of another hand swinging towards him. He pivoted, and turned back towards Sakura, wrapping his arms around her waist to subdue her. “Okay, okay,” he said between laughs. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed his head against hers the way a cat would to their owner’s leg. Sakura was still playfully pouting when Naruto lifted her up and carried her over to the couch.

“You’re such a weirdo,” Sakura grumbled, wiggling out of his grip just as he was about to set her down. She huffed and straightened her clothes as if none of that had just happened. Naruto chuckled and plopped back down. He grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and switched on the TV.

Sakura left the couch and walked over to the kitchen to pilfer through his fridge. She wasn’t surprised when the only things present were a half-eaten container of peanut butter, expired milk, an array of condiments and beer. No real food. Naruto had been practically living with his father for the past few months, so she wasn’t surprised.

Sakura sighed, slouching against the nearly empty fridge before she closed it. She’d spent all that time worrying and waiting for Naruto to return that she hadn’t even thought of eating until now. She opened up a drawer where she knew Naruto kept all of his take-out menus and pulled out one for a ramen shop, Ichiraku.

“Want some take-out Ramen?” Sakura called from the kitchen. Naruto leaned back on the couch until his head was nearly upside down facing her.

He grinned, “Yes please.” As if on cue, he felt a painful rumble churn through his stomach. It was like his insides were rearranging themselves in preparation for the salty noodles.

Naruto sat back normally on the couch and began flipping through channels as he heard Sakura giving out their orders over the phone. He flipped past a few channels before he landed on the news. They were rehashing a story from last week on some hotshot business owner returning to Japan. Something about the black car that pulled in front of the camera made Naruto’s skin prickle.

“What’s up?” Sakura asked as she sat back down on the couch. She must have finished placing their orders. Naruto shushed her, unusually interested in whatever celebrity news dribble was on today's headline.

“Holy shit,” Naruto spoke softly. That creepy, smiley weird guy from earlier in Sasuke’s place was on camera. He’d just gotten out of the driver’s side. Naruto stood up and took a step closer to the screen. “It can’t be him.”

“Who?” Sakura asked, looking between the TV and her friend.

A tall woman with long red hair and glasses got out the car next. He could tell she was tall because that creepy guy was taller than him and she only looked an inch or two shorter. She was holding a small child with short black hair in her arms, maybe three or four years old. They were both wearing expensive dresses. The girl in her arms was playing with a Madame Alexander doll that had the same short black hair as her. The next person who got out of the car had Naruto collapsing back onto the couch.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” He ran a hand through his hair. There he was, that fucking asshole.

“Naruto?” Sakura gave Naruto her concerned eyes. He was being weird, much weirder than the average Naruto weird. “What’s the matter?”

“That’s him.” He said, pointing listlessly at the screen. Sakura looked back at the program. The recording of the family leaving the car stopped and turned into a small box at the corner of the screen.

The fluff reporter started rambling away, “Our Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Fugaku Uchiha, passed away last week. His youngest son, owner of Mangekyou Energy, has returned with his family after years overseas and will be continuing operations here in Tokyo! Now that the…” she continued.

“Wait…” Sakura side eyed the TV, then Naruto. “That’s _him_? As in, why you didn’t answer my calls, him?” Naruto nodded. Sakura made an “O” shape with her mouth.

"No fucking way..."

"I know..."

"He's married! He has a kid!"

"I know..."

"He's like, super rich too! He's famous."

"I know..."

Sakura tilted her head as she examined the man in the freeze-framed image. "He is hot though..."

Naruto squeezed his eyes closed and groaned. "I know..." He slumped into the couch and covered his face with his hands. This was too much. Sakura offered him a soothing hand and gently patted his shoulder.

A large part of him felt disgusted, but another part of him knew that if he had known any of this, there was no way he’d sleep with a married man. A married man with a _child_ , that is. After all that happened to him between Neji and Kiba, the last thing he wanted to do was be some home wrecker. And the nerve of that bastard for doing that sort of thing behind his family’s back. It made him so angry.

“Well,” Naruto spoke, clearing his throat as he flipped past the channel. “Now I know he’s a bigger dick than I thought he was.”

 

* * *

 

Sakura left that night around midnight. Her boyfriend, Lee, drove over and picked her up. He’d told Naruto he was glad to see him looking better. Naruto smiled and waved the two off before returning to his apartment. He spent the rest of the night doing homework until around 3am when he fell asleep.

Sunday morning he woke up around 11am. He felt a bit better than yesterday, though he’d be lying if he said his ass was feeling completely normal. Plus, he was still feeling pissed off at the new information he’d learned about that bastard, Sasuke. What was more irritating was that he couldn’t stop thinking about him. Or how it felt to be with him… The way he kissed him and touched him. Just imaging it set his skin on fire.

Today was supposed to be the “double-date” with Sakura, Lee, and Hinata. It made him nervous to think about it, but was glad because it served as a distraction from those more unsavory thoughts that plagued his mind regarding a certain someone.

Sakura sent him a text telling him to meet her at the movie theater over in Akihabara at 1pm. He relayed the time over to Hinata then fell back on his bed, curling into himself and hugging a pillow over his face.

At 12:30 Naruto crawled out of bed to his bathroom to get ready. He was fifteen minutes late by the time he’d gotten to the movie theater. Sakura, Lee and Hinata were waiting outside of the ticket stand for him.

“You’re late,” Sakura pointed out.

Naruto scratched the back of his unruly hair and chuckled, “My bad.” He turned his attention to Lee and smiled. After that his eyes landed on Hinata and he suddenly felt awkward. Hinata was a beautiful girl, short with silky long hair. She looked like she could’ve been a goddess in another life, but in this reality she was just an awkward girl with those same eyes he’d tried his damnedest to forget over the past twelve months.

“Naruto!” Lee’s boisterous voice broke the tension. “It’s been quite a while since we’ve had the chance to hang out. What a glorious day this will be!” he walked over and threw a heavy arm over Naruto’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Naruto winced at the tight grip. “Sure has. Good to see you, man.” He let out a small sigh of relief when Lee released his grip. Naruto once again turned to face Hinata and managed a genuine smile. “Hey Hinata.”

Hinata smiled softly, the nervous look on her face seemed to melt away from the warmth of Naruto’s greeting. She stepped up, the heels of her sandals tapping sweetly against the concrete as she approached him, and gently wrapped her arms around his waist. “Hello Naruto. I’ve missed you.” Naruto leaned into the embraces, enjoying the sound of her small voice as she held him.

They broke apart and Naruto left her with a light peck on her forehead as he used to do when they were in elementary school and would claim her as his pretend girlfriend.

“Okay!” Sakura cut in as if she’d been holding her breath. “Shall we? We’ve already missed the previews by now.”

“Oh no, not the previews!” Naruto mock whined. Sakura rolled her eyes and playfully smacked his arm.

“Hey! You know they’re the best part.”

“It’s not like you can’t just watch them on YouTube later.”

“It’s so much better on the big screen though!”

Lee and Hinata watched the two bicker from behind and smiled at each other. At the food stand Naruto and Sakura continued to go back and forth until the cashier appeared.

Sakura turned and gave the teenager a big smile, “Two large popcorns please.” When the worker began ringing up their order, Lee reached for his wallet to pay, but Naruto held his hand out and shook his head.

“I got it,” Naruto said and grinned. He reached into his back pocket, only to find a half empty pack of cigarettes. He patted around his other pockets with squinted eyes. When it became clear that he didn’t have his wallet, he straightened and scratched the back of his head with a goofy smile. “Uh, or not.”

Sakura shook her head, “You forgot your wallet?” Lee handed the cashier his debit card.

“I guess so…” he rarely left stuff like that behind so it was hard to imagine. He probably just forgot to pick it up on the way out. It would be on his nightstand when he got home, he was sure.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t on his nightstand. And after 2 hours of scrounging through his apartment, he was convinced that it wasn’t there at all.

Exhausted from his search, Naruto plopped onto his couch and let his head fall back. He stared up at the ceiling. Losing his ID, a couple credit cards and a little cash wasn’t the end of the world. But that wallet was the one his mother had bought him for his twentieth birthday. The wallet she couldn’t even personally give him, but that his father had given him several days after the funeral as an afterthought. It irritated him that he could be so careless.

He’d checked everywhere for it. He knew that, unless he’d dropped it on the street, then the only other place it could be was…

“Ugh,” he groaned and covered his tired eyes with both hands. The last thing he wanted to do was crawl back to that bastard after the way he was treated. But, he did feel bad for losing his wallet. He could almost see his mother standing over him with her hands on her hips.

He let his hands fall, crossed his arms and pouted. Maybe he could stop by and ask him about it. He did know where he worked.

He thought about that for a moment.

“Hell no.” He answered and shook his head at the thought. Sasuke humiliated him, treated him like garbage he’d forgotten to take out.

Naruto was glaring at his wall above his TV now, imagining Sasuke’s smug face.

If that bastard had his wallet, wouldn't he have brought it to him by now? Or, at the very least, had his  _servant_ do it. He refused to believe that some part of him actually wanted to see that prick. Or that thinking about it, amidst the anger, there was a little bit of excitement bubbling up in his chest at the thought of coming face to face with that arrogant, cheating bastard. Because if he were to admit something like that, then he'd be convinced that he was sick and perhaps needed to be committed as soon as possible. 

And even if he did, theoretically, see him again, it would only be to tell him off for being an insensitive prick. 

But he wouldn't see him. Point was, he probably didn't have his wallet anyway so there _was_ no point. 

He’d promised himself he’d forget about him, so he would.

 

* * *

  

A week passed and Naruto was back to doing what he did best: working odd hours, class, sleep, and repeat. Yet, still no sign of his wallet. It was just a chunk of leather. It wasn’t as if being so attached to such a thing would bring her back.

Beside that, things did feel like they were turning up for Naruto. Since the outing at the movies, Naruto’d been spending less time at his father’s home, and more time in his apartment. Sakura came over more often, and sometimes Ino or Shikamaru and Chouji, or even occasionally Hinata. It was refreshing. It felt like his life was becoming normal again. And, to top it off, he had only thought about Sasuke thirty seven times, and only during ten of those times did he get hard. 

The only thing that had him on edge was his birthday. It was coming up in a few days and he knew he’d have to visit his mother’s grave with his dad. It seemed like every time he thought about his mom he’d fall apart. Thinking about his mother down there in that coffin just made him want to throw up. And the longer he thought about that upcoming day where he'd have to look down at her grave, the worse he felt about losing his wallet. After thinking about it over the week, he decided he'd have to try to get it back, he just didn't like what he'd have to do to get it. 

2am on Friday, he’d gotten into work a little over an hour ago and was mixing drinks behind the busy bar.

“Yo! Naruto,” Ino, a bubbly, longhaired blond, waved with a large smile while dragging an unamused looking Shikamaru behind her. Naruto was wiping out the inside of a glass when he spotted them approaching and waved back.

The couple crammed their way past the other patrons until they were somewhat settled at the bar.

“Hey guys,” Naruto leaned over and gave his fellow blond a light kiss on the cheek, then leaned back and offered Shikamaru a friendly nod. “What’s up?”

Shikamaru shrugged, looking like he didn’t want to be there. It wasn’t a farfetched idea that Ino dragged him out beyond his will. “Ask her,” Shikamaru spoke, sounding irritated, “Can I get a beer?” Naruto looked to Ino for a second who was grinning innocently before turning his back to the pair. He bent down and grabbed a bottled Heineken from the mini fridge and popped the cap off with ease.

He turned back to his friends. “We only have bottles tonight, no more drafts,” he said as he handed Shikamaru the open bottle. Shikamaru shrugged and gulped down a bit of the offered beer. Naruto looked back at Ino and opened his mouth to speak when a new customer caught his eye. He held one finger up to signal for her to wait, then went to take their order.

2 mojitos later he was back and putting away the dirty glasses that were left at the bar along with a few crumpled bills.

“So?” Naruto started and couldn’t help but smile along with Ino, even though he still wasn’t sure why she was so strangely giddy. Either she was really excited about something or she was already half drunk.

“Naruto,” She dragged out his name sweetly and leaned further over the bar. “Your birthday’s in a few days,” Naruto’s smile faded, even as Ino’s grew. “We wanted to wait,” she continued, “But you wouldn’t have time to prepare if we did. So…” Ino reached into her purse and pulled out two tickets. “Happy Early Birthday! This is from everyone.”

Naruto looked down at the tickets, then up at Shikamaru, who was looking uncomfortable, before looking back at Ino. He slowly took them from her hands and held them closer to his face. He read them, then looked back up at Ino. “Tickets to Kyushu?”

The words seemed to trigger something in Ino that made her jump and giggle. “Yes! You know that onsen that’s like, totally famous or whatever, we’re going! Isn’t that great? You totally need a relaxing vacation to take your mind off of things.”

Naruto tried to smile. He looked over at Shikamaru who was strategically avoiding eye contact.

“What about my job? I can’t just leave for…” he checked the ticket’s return date. “Four days.”

“Oh no, it’s okay! We’ve been planning this for a while. We spoke to your manager about it and everything.” Ino’s enthusiastic smile was faltering now. Naruto wasn’t looking the least bit excited.

“Here we go.” Shikamaru muttered, and only Ino seemed to hear him. She nudged him hard with her elbow while focusing her concerned eyes on Naruto. Shikamaru grumbled and rubbed his side, but didn’t comment further.

“Naruto come on, it’s your twenty-first birthday. We wanted to do something fun.” Naruto looked away, but Ino did her best to keep some form of eye contact. “Don’t you want to go?”

“Look, I’m sorry you spent so much money on it,” Naruto said and held the tickets back out to her. Ino suddenly looked like she’d been smacked.

“Naruto,” she pleaded, not making a move to accept them. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry Ino,” when he realized she wasn’t going to take them back he sat them down on the bar. A man at the bar whom he’d previously served a shot of tequila was raising his hand for another drink. Naruto offered an apologetic smile before turning and tending to the needy man.

Ino bit her lip as she watched her friend. Shikamaru grabbed her hand and nodded towards the exit, signaling to her that it was time to go. One thing Naruto was and would never stop being is hard headed. If he made up his mind about not going, they weren’t going to change that.

Once they were gone, Naruto went back to their spot to clean up after Shikamaru’s half drunken beer and noticed that the plane tickets he’d given back to Ino were still there. He was tempted to throw them away, but felt that wasn’t the right thing to do. He’d try to give them back again in the morning and hopefully sound less like an ungrateful prick. He sighed when he looked at them and slipped them into his breast pocket.

They didn’t get it.

He didn’t care about his birthday. It only reminded him of what he was missing. If he was being honest with himself, he just wanted to be alone. Why couldn’t they have just given him an Ichiraku gift certificate and called it a day? Going to Kyushu, staying at some fancy Onsen, he knew he wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself.

Naruto shook his head and whispered, “I’m an asshole.” 

 

* * *

 

After Naruto’s shift the sun was in the middle of its rise. He walked out of the alley with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He had been mentally preparing for this since the beginning of his shift. All he had to do was go in there, figure out where the bastard's office was, and ask about his wallet. Easy. Super easy, actually. 

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. After a few more puffs of his cigarette he tossed it and set off towards his favorite coffee shop, located in the building where they first met.

 

* * *

 

Walking into the office building for what was probably the hundredth time, for the first time, felt a little odd for Naruto. Maybe it was because he wasn’t just going to the small coffee shop to chat with TenTen and get his caffeine fix. It could also be because he was walking in the same direction as a bunch of stuffy men and women in designer suits and dresses and here he was dressed in his alcohol stained jeans and Club Locust T-shirt. Or maybe because he knew that he smelled like sweat and cigarettes and the people around him didn’t hide the fact that they could smell it too. Between the side-eyed looks and the stifling, hard-to-breathe air, there were a number of reasons for him to turn around and say “To hell with the wallet!”

As he made his way through the building, he repeatedly asked himself: Why was he even doing this? He mulled over that question as he approached the elevators he remembered Sasuke getting on. He couldn’t stop his fidgeting as more workers stood around him. He peeked over to a sign by the elevator doors that listed out a number of companies. The floors jumped from one to ten, then all the way up to thirty. He scanned through them until he reached the company listed as the top floor: “Mangekyou Energy”. It was the company that news reporter was blabbing about on the story about Sasuke's family. Naruto grit his teeth when the thought settled in.

_Family._

How could he be so careless? 

The elevator doors opened. It took him out of his thoughts and back into reality. Staring inside the elevator he hesitated, letting some people push past him to get inside. He wondered if this was strange; if he should even be here. He also wondered why he cared so much. What reason did he have to be so nervous? 

When the last person waiting went in, he followed after them. The button for the thirtieth floor was already pressed and lit up, so he straightened and waited patiently as they started moving up.

Again, Naruto could feel the heat of the other occupants staring at him, likely wondering if he was lost. He cleared his throat and let his eyes roam upwards, avoiding any possible eye contact.

After the first few stops, there were only two other people riding up with him. The next stop was the top floor. Upon seeing this, he quickly ran his fingers through his messy blond hair and checked his reflection in the shiny doors of the elevator. When he realized what he was doing he quickly put his hand down to his side and looked away. Who the hell did he have to impress anyway? Even so, he felt his cheeks getting warm at the thought. He didn’t bother thinking about why.

On top floor, the doors opened revealing a very sleek looking office space. However, a security desk and glass doors that required a key card to enter guarded the section where he assumed people worked.

Naruto stepped out along with the remaining two people. They zoomed past him and he watched them scan themselves through the glass doors. Distracted by their movement, he hadn’t realized the security guard was staring right at him.

“Excuse me,” a deep voice cut across the room, a sudden noise that made Naruto jump.

Naruto turned to the security guard and walked over to the desk to get a better look at him. He was a burly looking man with bright strawberry-orange hair. He was glaring at him, obviously thinking that Naruto didn't belong. His nametag read: Juugo.

Naruto stopped in front of the desk and cleared his throat. “I’m here to see Sasuke,” he said with an amount of confidence that he wished he felt. 

The security guard, Juugo, looked even more irritated by the statement. “Sasuke?” Juugo grunted out the name as if it was something unheard of. “Do you mean Uchiha-sama?”

Without thinking, Naruto rolled his eyes and it lit a fire in Juugo’s eyes that made Naruto change his tune. He shook his head and grinned, “Oh yeah, Uchiha-sama. That’s right.” 

Juugo continued to glare, looking more skeptical with each second that passed.

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, Juugo looked away and said, “Uchiha-sama is not expecting you. You’ll have to leave.”

Naruto’s mouth fell open. “What? I didn’t even give you my name.”

“I don’t need it.” Juugo looked away and busied himself with some puzzle he’d been working on before Naruto showed up. Naruto grit his teeth at the man who was now obviously ignoring him.

Fed up, he all but growled at him, “Hey asshole, I said I need to see Sasuke Uchiha.”

Juugo glared up at Naruto again, “And I said he isn’t available, so beat it.”

“Fuck that. I need to ask him something.”

Juugo smirked and nodded his head in a smug show of interest, “Oh I’m sure.”

Naruto glared, “Are you seriously mocking me?”

“Look, punk.” Juugo stood up then, and Naruto realized for the first time just how tall this man was. He towered over him by at least a foot. Naruto felt some of his spunk drain from him, but refused to show any real sign of weakness. “People like you come in here all the time with the same story. This is a business not a museum. If you’re done, you can show yourself out...or,” he crossed two muscular arms over his chest. “I can show you out myself.”

Naruto glared up at the man, irritated that the man’s attempt to intimidate him was actually working.

Shit.

He might as well give it up. This Juugo guy was clearly unwilling to budge. Regardless of what it meant to have it, It was just a wallet anyway. “Whatever,” Naruto breathed out as he turned to leave. Just then, the elevator doors opened.

“I told that dumbass not to send that email too! And now we’ve got to send over the analytics by tomorrow and they aren’t even halfway done. That fucking moron!” A young looking man with silver hair was ranting to Sasuke as they walked through.

When they got close enough to the security desk Sasuke stopped when he saw Naruto standing there. The silver haired man beside him didn’t seem to notice. He continued on, “You won’t believe what that guy said to me. I swear I should’ve fired him right there…” finally, the silver haired man paused when he noticed Sasuke wasn’t beside him and looked back.

Naruto straightened his posture and cleared his throat.

Sasuke looked from Naruto to Juugo who immediately began stammering, “Oh! Good morning, Uchiha-sama. I apologize. I was just getting rid of…” he struggled to find the right word, “ _that_.” He said the word like it tasted bad on his tongue and gestured to Naruto. Sasuke’s eyes followed his movement.

Naruto glared at Juugo, then at Sasuke. Then, without hesitation he marched up to Sasuke, ignoring Juugo’s protests or the sound of him coming around his desk to stop him.

“Hey, I need to ask you something.” Naruto said, and just as he got close Juugo’s strong hand grabbed his arm.

“Watch it, kid.” Juugo hissed at him.

Naruto turned to give him a piece of his mind but paused when Sasuke spoke up, “It’s fine, Juugo.”

“But…” Juugo went to protest, but was silenced by Sasuke’s glare. He quickly let go of Naruto’s arm and skulked back to his desk, glaring at Naruto the whole way.

Naruto brushed off his arm, tempted to stick his tongue out at the security guard bastard, but decided he wouldn’t be as childish as he wanted to, and not because he was worried about what Sasuke would think of him. That would be ridiculous.

Sasuke looked at Naruto before saying, “Come on,” then turned towards the glass doors.

Sasuke went over to the ID scanner, followed by the silver haired man who kept curiously peeking over at Naruto. He scanned them in and walked through the doors that slid open for them. Just inside a pretty woman sitting behind a desk stood up and bowed. “Good morning Uchiha-sama.” She turned to the silver haired man and bowed again, “Hozuki-sama.” She looked to Naruto and faltered. Unsure of what to make of him, she gave him a forced smile and slowly sat back down. She clearly thought his appearance was distasteful. Regardless of her uncomfortable expression, Naruto grinned, trying to act less out of place than he felt.

Sasuke and his companion walked ahead and when he realized they were on the move, Naruto followed behind them. The sterile office space was suffocating. As they walked by Naruto could hear people whispering about them, probably wondering about the blond nobody their _king "Uchiha-sama"_ was totting around.

As they walked through the long hallways Naruto overheard the silver haired man whisper to Sasuke, “Hey. Who the hell is this kid?”

Sasuke looked at him and smirked, “Nobody.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed, “Prick.” He said under his breath. Sasuke looked back at him, obviously hearing him, but didn’t say anything.

They got to the end of the hall and stood before a set of double doors. “Well,” the silver haired man turned to them, namely Naruto, and grinned. “I should probably get to my office.” Naruto glared at him. Something about the guy just pissed him off. He had the same air of entitlement and arrogance that Sasuke had. 

Sasuke ignored his friend's behavior as he unlocked and opened the door to his office. “Get me that paperwork for the merger by noon,” was all he said as he went in.

“Aye-aye,” the silver haired man raised his hand to salute, then turned to Naruto and winked. After that he was gone, disappearing behind the door to the left. When Naruto looked back into Sasuke’s office, he was already sitting down behind a large wooden desk placed in front of a curved panel of windows.

The office was enormous, which didn’t surprise Naruto. There were two large sofas facing each other in front of Sasuke’s desk and a coffee table in the middle that separated them. On one wall there was an expansive bookshelf with a number of English books with titles Naruto couldn’t pronounce and on another there was a litter of certificates and company awards.

After letting his eyes roam around and take in his surroundings, they landed on Sasuke, whose eyes were now focused on a stack of papers. Without looking up Sasuke said, “Close the door.”

Naruto did as he was told then walked over to stand in front of Sasuke’s desk. He stood there for a full minute before Sasuke looked up at him.

“To what do I owe this visit?”

Naruto glared at his pompous statement, “My wallet. I think I left it at your place. It's important to me so if you have it, give it back.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, as if he was thinking that over. Then, he looked back down at his paperwork, “If it’s there, I will have Sai bring it to you.” He said dismissively and began crossing things out on one of the sheets. “Is that all?”

Naruto grit his teeth. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Did he think it was okay to talk and treat people this way? Did he have no sense of common decency? Naruto slammed his hand down on the thick desk and barked out, “No, that’s not all!” His outburst startled Sasuke, but not enough for him to do anything but pause and look up. Naruto continued, “You’re a real scumbag, you know that? I can’t even believe I slept with someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. He placed his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together.

“Are you kidding me? You’re an asshole, a _cheater_ and a pompous, arrogant prick!”

Sasuke scoffed and it irritated Naruto to see that he thought this was funny.

"What's so funny?" 

Sasuke shook his head, his dark eyes amused while his expression remained stoic. "It's humorous that you think your little temper tantrum is justified." 

"Temper tantrum?" Naruto repeated the words in a voice laced with anger and frustration. "You're so full of it. You don't even think you did anything wrong." 

Sasuke leaned back in his swiveling chair and looked up, feigning confusion, "Oh? I don't recall forcing anything on you. In fact, I recall you begging and moaning and..." 

"Stop!" Naruto held his hands out towards Sasuke and turned his face away. His skin was feeling hot and he knew he was getting red from Sasuke's words. 

Sasuke sat up straight again, “You really are an idiot, aren't you?” It wasn't really a question. 

Naruto dropped his hands and turned his glare onto Sasuke, regardless of his flushed face. Sasuke smirked at him.

"Naruto," Sasuke said slowly and Naruto couldn’t help the way his body tingled from hearing his name said with that silky, deep voice. Sasuke stood up. “Tell me something,” he continued, walking around the desk to where Naruto was. “Did you really just come here to get your wallet and yell at me like a moron?” Sasuke stopped and stood in front of him so close that Naruto had to back against the desk to keep them from touching. Sasuke smirked at Naruto’s colorless expression. The next words came out so low that Naruto stopped breathing to hear it, “Or did you come here because you wanted to feel it again?”

They were almost touching. Sasuke was leaning over him like a lion ready to eat his prey. Naruto felt like he was going to choke from lack of circulating oxygen.

“Uchiha-sama,” a radio-warped female voice cut in from the telephone speaker on the desk. Both Naruto and Sasuke turned to look at it. “I’ve got Yakushi-sama at Hebi International Studios on line 1.” The message ended. Naruto could feel himself beginning to sweat.

Sasuke backed away, unfazed and walked back to his seat.

Naruto turned his head to see Sasuke sit down and prepare to pick up the phone, but before he did he looked up at Naruto and said, “I’ll have Sai bring you your wallet if he finds it.” He looked down after that, hit one of the digits on the phone and picked up the receiver. “Yes," he answered. "I’m aware. Our team is delivering that to you now…”

Naruto stood there dumbly for a moment, and then realized he needed to get out of there because he still wasn’t breathing properly. Without another word he walked out of the office and closed the door. In the hallway he took a deep, deep breath.

What the hell was that?

It was like Sasuke had some sort of sick magical powers, and they were way too effective in making Naruto braindead. Whenever Sasuke gets too close, Naruto just turns into a ball of stupid pudding. He held a hand over his heart and felt it pounding like crazy in his chest.

“Jesus.” He whispered to himself.

A woman carrying a briefcase walked by, pausing for a second to stare at Naruto. He stood up straight and grinned at her. She narrowed her eyes and made a face that looked almost like a snarl then walked off. Naruto shook his head. Yeah, he needed to get out of there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! Happy Saturday~ 
> 
> Here is Chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed it! Again, I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions. The next chapter will be up next Saturday as always. If you enjoyed the story so far, I hope you're excited to see how it progresses in the future. Thank you all for the support and I'll see you next week! 
> 
> :>


	4. Deadly Digits

A week later it was 2am on Friday and Naruto was back at work. He was mixing a drink for a lonely looking older man, definitely retired, when he heard a voice behind him.

“Pardon me,” Naruto turned, expecting it to be some other partygoer looking for a cocktail to stir up the night. Instead, he spotted that strange, butler-guy with the creepy face from Sasuke’s place. What was his name again?”

“Sai right?” Naruto said as he poured the mixed drink into a glass full of ice. “Not wiping Sasuke’s ass, I see.” He turned and smiled kindly at the older gentleman as he slid over the drink. The older man accepted it with a sultry smile and slid a twenty Naruto’s way. Naruto grinned as the man turned to leave.

“No,” Sai said sounding humored, “I suppose I’m not.”

Naruto went over to the register to ring up the order, peeking at Sai who was quietly smiling at him as he worked. Was he just going to look at him like that?

Once Naruto finished the transaction he walked over to Sai, “I’m guessing you’re here because you have my wallet?”

“Yes,” was Sai’s simple reply. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the small object and handed it over to Naruto. “You seemed to have misplaced this in Uchiha-sama’s room.”

Naruto grabbed it and held it up to his face to examine it. Naruto felt himself beginning to smile as he rubbed over the rough leather fabric with his thumb.

“Isn’t it customary to thank someone when they give you something?” Naruto looked up at Sai. He didn’t seem to be joking.

Naruto ignored the question and slipped the wallet into his back pocket. He reached his hand out after that and waited for Sai to accept it.

Sai looked down at the outstretched hand. He seemed to think about the gesture for a moment before he grabbed hold of it.

Naruto gave the hand a firm shake and smiled, “Well thanks Sai, this thing means a lot to me.”

“Yes well,” Sai nodded and smiled. For the first time it reached his eyes, and he looked a whole lot less creepy. He continued, “I should be going now.” Naruto moved to turn away, but Sai’s voice stopped him. “But, before I go, Uchiha-sama has asked me to give you his number.”

“His number?” Naruto parroted, feeling his skin go hot at the thought of Sasuke thinking about him in that way. He physically shook the thought from his head. “Wait, no way! That jerk’s got a family!”

“Uchiha-sama is well aware of his family…” Naruto paused. Sai was looking at him with genuine curiosity. He was beginning to realize that Sai’s comments weren’t so much condescending, as they were just strange and almost kid-like.

Naruto shook his head, “I don’t want it. Tell him he can go fuck himself.”

Sai smiled as if something dirty had just popped into his mind, but he didn’t seem interested in sharing what it was. Instead he shrugged and pointed down at the wallet. “I took the liberty of placing it on a small slip of paper in your wallet. I just wanted to make sure you knew what it was. I suppose you can do with it as you wish.” Naruto looked down at the wallet, then back up at Sai. “Well, have a pleasant night, Naruto-san.”

Sai turned and left after that. Naruto was left standing behind the bar feeling flushed. Call him? For what? So he could be his mistress? His _booty-call_? No fucking way.

Naruto opened the wallet and easily found the small slip of paper decorated with neatly scribbled numbers. He figured he should get rid of it now and be done with it.

Somehow, he just ended up staring at it for a full minute before a customer pulled his attention with their needy call for drinks. Naruto closed the wallet and pocketed it, choosing to deal with the number later.

* * *

 

After work Naruto decided he’d head over to his dad’s so he hopped on the train to Ginza.

A little over 30 minutes later he was at his old house opening the door with his spare key. It was still barely six in the morning so he didn’t expect his father to be up quite yet. Once inside, he quietly toed his shoes off before making his way up the stairs to his old room.

His room looked the same as it did when he was in high school. The walls were blue and his bedding orange. There were posters of soccer teams and old Kung Fu and ninja movies plastered on all the walls. Knick-knacks and sporting gear were neatly placed in baskets or on shelves, clearly his father’s doing. And on the nightstand, there was a picture of ten-year-old him and his mom when he’d won his black belt in karate. It was perfect. Standing in this room he was always able to forget about how life turned in a direction he’d never imagined it would go.

He shrugged off the jacket he wore to fend off the brisk October cold and threw it onto the floor. Next went his pants, then his socks and shirt. He was down to his boxers by the time he was ready to slip underneath the comforter on his old bed.

A second or two after getting comfortable he remembered something that all but forced him out of the bed to his crumpled pants on the floor. He reached into a heavy pocket and pulled out his wallet. Flipping it open, he was faced with that slip of paper holding those godforsaken digits. He dropped his wallet and carried the paper back with him into bed.

“I shouldn’t call him.” He whispered to himself. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought of that asshole every night for the past week. But who could blame him? He was the only other guy he’d slept with aside from Neji. And damn…

He closed his eyes, thinking that maybe it would help him get the images out of his head, but it only made it worse. He reached down and grabbed himself over his boxers. He was getting hard. He was imaging Sasuke’s body, and how it felt to run his hands down his chest and press up against him. He turned his head to the side and bit his lip.

“Fuck,” he hissed and reached over to where he barely remembered dropping his phone on the nightstand. He quickly dialed the numbers and stared at them on the screen. His thumb halted over the call button. He sat there staring at it for a moment before deleting everything and placing his phone to the side. “Stupid…”

* * *

 

Naruto woke up a little past three to a call from Sakura. His eyes were barely open when he held the phone up to his ear.

Sakura’s voice rang through the speaker, “So I heard that you’re not going.” The statement nearly made him hang up and go back to sleep. It was too early for this. At least, it was too early for him.

“I’m not.” He knew she was referring to the trip to the onsen. As much as he appreciated the gesture, he didn’t think he had it in him to go. “I tried to give the tickets back to Ino, but she won’t answer my calls or texts. She’s probably still mad at me.” He yawned, waiting for Sakura’s reply. When she didn’t immediately respond he asked, “You’re not gonna yell at me are you?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his free hand.

“I’m not gonna yell at you. I wish you’d change your mind though.”

“Sakura,” Naruto breathed out, sounding even more exhausted than he’d originally felt.

“Naruto,” she mimicked.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Naruto sat up and rested his back against the headboard, feeling more awake now.

“Don’t try to get me to change my mind. Because I won’t,” he knew he sounded like an asshole. A part of him wanted to just accept the gift so that he’d make his friends happy. But that part of him, the part that lived to please people, had seemed to slip from him each day over the past year. He heard Sakura sigh.

“I’m not gonna.” She whined. He could imagine her pouting face. “I was just saying… That’s all,” she sounded defeated.

Naruto let out a heavy breath. He knew what she was doing, and she was damn good at it. “Look.” He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his tired brow with his thumb and index finger. He spoke again, “I’ll think about it.”

“Really?” Sakura seemed to be beaming, he could tell even over the phone.

“Yes, really.” Naruto laid back down and curled over in bed. He pulled his covers tight over his shoulder before he spoke, sounding tired again, “Now can I go back to sleep?”

“No.”

His eyebrows rose at the seriousness of her statement, “Why not?”

“Because I’m outside waiting for you to let me in.”

Naruto chuckled and shook his head, even though she couldn’t see it. “I’m not at my apartment. I’m at my dad’s.”

“I know…”

Naruto paused.

He pulled the phone away from his face and looked at it.

* * *

 Naruto opened the front door to his childhood home and was greeted by Sakura and Hinata, who were carrying bags full of snacks. He greeted them in his boxers and high school soccer T-shirt.

He scratched his belly before he spoke in a yawn muffled voice, “G’mornin’.” He reached over and grabbed the grocery bags, then stepped aside to let them in. “What’re you guys doing out here? Don’t you have class or somethin’?”

“I’m out of class at two today,” Sakura began, speaking for the both of them. “And I just found out that Hinata’s free on Fridays so I invited her to tag along since her apartment is so close to here.” Hinata nodded and smiled cutely. Naruto led them to the kitchen where he sat the bags down on the table. He began sifting through.

“Ooooh, you brought me some ramen!” He retrieved an instant noodle cup from the bag and cradled it. “Sweet ramen,” he cooed. Sakura gave him a disgusted look while Hinata let out a gentle laugh. Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sakura’s expression. “You’re just jealous.”

Sakura scoffed, “Of what? The noodles or the Idiot?” She snatched the ramen out of his hands and placed it back in the bag. Naruto gasped at the feeling of the salty treat being ripped away.

“So mean,” he sighed playfully. Sakura ignored him and carried the bag over to the stove. She pulled out a pot and began the process of boiling water.

“I heard that you’re not going to join us at the onsen, Naruto,” Hinata spoke for the first time. Naruto’s goofy expression left him and he was left feeling anxious again.

He gave her an awkward smile, “Yeah, I said I’d think about it.” He shrugged and scratched the back of his head.

“Well, I hope you decide to go. My family has already rented the rooms to accommodate seven people. It would be a shame if you didn’t join.”

“Everyone’s going, huh?” He sat down at the table and Hinata did the same. Sakura busied herself with preparing the noodles.

“Mh-hm,” Hinata nodded happily. “I’m very excited. But, it will not be the same without you,” again she gave him a soft, gentle smile. After that the room fell silent. The only thing to be heard was the sizzling water on the stove. While Hinata was fiddling with the hem of her shirt, Naruto wasn’t sure what to say.

Thankfully, before the silence got too awkward, Sakura interjected by placing a steaming cup of noodles in front of him. He accepted with a smile and immediately dug into the hot dish.

“So, Hinata!” Sakura spoke up enthusiastically, “Did you hear that Naruto’s sleeping with a celebrity?”

Naruto nearly spat out all of the noodles from his mouth. Instead, he choked them down before he ended up making a mess and glared at Sakura who was walking around to claim an empty seat at the table.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Naruto sputtered.

“A celebrity?” Hinata said curiously and looked to Sakura who nodded with a wide grin.

“He’s not a celebrity!” Naruto argued, “He’s just some rich asshole…”

“An Ambassador’s son,” Sakura corrected.

Naruto slapped both of his hands on his face and groaned.

“Oh, that’s nice.” Hinata nodded kindly at the information. “Is he sweet?”

“NO!” Naruto shot his head up and immediately responded. “He’s a total dick. And, for the record, we slept together ONCE.” He calmed down from his outburst and looked away. For some reason he was feeling embarrassed. “Besides, I found out that he has a family. I don’t think I’ll see him again.”

Hinata looked sad for him, and sat a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry Naruto. Maybe he just wasn’t the one.”

Naruto chuckled, and looked over to return her sweet look with a nod and halfhearted smile. “Yeah,” he let out another chuckle, “The one.” Naruto wasn’t even sure something like that existed in this world. He’d thought with all his heart that Neji was “the One”, his “love at first sight”. Was it possible to be so in love with someone that you didn’t want anyone else? Was it possible that there would never be a “two” or “three” to your “one”? Naruto couldn’t say he believed in that anymore.

“Hey! She’s right, you know!” Sakura straightened up in her chair with her encouraging words. “You’ll never see that asshole again. So what? At least you had a good time, right? Besides, there are so many guys who’d love to sleep with you… with strings attached.”

Naruto laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think I’m looking for ‘strings’. Besides, he uh…” Naruto stopped himself.

“He what?” Sakura inquired, leaning forward over the table.

Naruto realized he’d forgotten about his noodles and shoved a few in his mouth while he debated on whether or not he should tell them.

“Well?” Sakura pushed again just as Naruto swallowed the heavy bite. Naruto sighed and slumped back in his chair.

“Well… He sort of had his assistant/servant/butler/whatever-guy give me his number.”

“HE WANTS YOU TO CALL HIM AGAIN?” Sakura stood up, nearly knocking the table over.

Naruto held his hands up in his defense. “Hey, I didn’t call him yet.”

“Yet?!”

“No! I…” Naruto looked away.

“Naruto, don’t tell me you’re thinking about calling this guy.”

“I’m not!”

Sakura settled back down in her seat. “Good.”

Naruto ate a few more bites of his noodles as the room fell silent. He grumbled after his third bite, “Weren’t you all _gung-ho_ for him, like, two minutes ago?”

Sakura shook her head, “I was only kidding. No way would I be okay with you sleeping around with a married man.”

Hinata nodded as she thought about this mysterious man. Again there was a lingering silence settling in before she spoke, “Yes but…” Both Sakura and Naruto turned to her. She seemed to become nervous as all eyes landed on her, but she didn’t back down. “Well, Naruto, I think that if you want to call him and he makes you happy, then you should.”

Both of their mouths hung open at the words.

She continued, “I hate what Neji did to you. I think we all do.” She nodded at her own musing, “But, as much as it stunk, I know that he wouldn’t have done that to you if Kiba didn’t truly make him happy.”

After hearing that Naruto looked away. He’d suddenly lost his appetite.

“I’m sorry for saying that.” Hinata looked down, dejected. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Naruto quickly looked back at her and smiled, it was his turn to be the reassuring one. “No! Don’t apologize. It’s okay. Really…” He leaned back in his seat. “I’m glad you said that. And, you’re right. But… Hell, I don’t even know this guy. And, either way, he’s seriously an asshole. I don’t plan on seeing him again.”

Hinata lifted her head and smiled. “Well, whatever you decide to do, I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.”

Naruto smiled, “Thanks.”

* * *

After having his lunch with the girls, Hinata drove them into the city so that Naruto could get there in time for his evening class.

He waved goodbye to the two through the car window as they drove off. After watching the car disappear around the corner he turned towards the school building and made his way inside.

As he went through the double doors a figure stepped in front of him, halting his path.

The first thing that hit him was the smell of a particular, expensive cologne. Naruto’s heart was ramming in his chest the moment his eyes met the familiar face.

“Naruto…” Neji spoke.

And incredible amount of anxiety bubbled at the pit of Naruto’s stomach. He felt like the air was becoming dense and it made it difficult to breathe.

“Hey,” Neji tried again, this time snapping Naruto out of his temporary trance.

Naruto glared and all but growled out, “Hey yourself.”

“Look, Naruto…” Neji persisted.

“Don’t.” Naruto pushed past him and began walking towards the center of the building where the elevators were. He quickly realized that Neji was following him and he could feel his nerves getting the best of him.

“Naruto, I’d really like to speak with you.” He heard Neji say and it took everything within him not to turn around and slug him right across that perfect face. Once he made it to the elevators, he moved to press the “up” button when a pale hand covered it before he had the chance.

Naruto breathed out an unsteady breath before he turned and glared hell and fire at his ex.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Neji smiled humorlessly, “I’m trying to get your attention. Clearly, it has worked.”

“Clearly, you’re out of your fucking mind.” Naruto could feel his temperature rising. His skin was beginning to turn red. Neji had maybe one full minute before Naruto’s patience broke along with Neji’s perfectly angled nose.

“I may be,” Something in Neji’s head made him smile at the thought. The sight only made Naruto want to vomit. Neji continued after his brief moment of thought, “Naruto, I haven’t been able to speak with you in a year.” Though they’d passed each other on occasion and have even made eye contact from time to time. Even so, they hadn’t spoken a word to each other since their breakup. They’d never even formally broken up. The sight of Neji on top of Kiba on their couch was breakup enough for him.

“So what?” Naruto looked away, feeling flushed and frustrated.

“I wanted to apologize to you. I never got to.” The words triggered another rush of anger in Naruto, and he realized that Neji was standing a little too close so he took a step back as to not be swept away. It was also then that he realized that there were other students watching them, trying to seem inconspicuous when they were just plain nosy. Naruto sneered and turned his back to Neji.

Finally Neji moved his hand and he was free to press the “up” button whenever. For some reason, he didn’t immediately go for it. He felt compelled to listen.

Neji spoke again, his voice sounding soft and comforting, “Naruto, I’m very sorry about what I did.” Naruto hung his head at the words. They hurt. His chest was feeling heavy. It made him want to cry, but dammit, he’d cried too fucking much over this. “I wasn’t sure how long I’d have to tell you this.” Naruto looked back at Neji. What did he mean by that? Not sure how long?

When Naruto’s eyes met his they widened at the emptiness in them. Neji looked so terribly sad and dejected. It was a look that rarely overcame Neji. Naruto had only ever seen it those few times he’d spent the holidays with Neji and his family.

Those times when Hinata’s father, Neji’s guardian, would talk down to him as if he was some sort of house pet. In the past, that same look would have had Naruto running into his arms and kissing his cheeks. He remembered the times where he wanted Neji to rely only on him, and his strength.

At this moment, Naruto’s anger seemed to be washing away and the familiar need to console Neji became an overwhelming feeling.

But then, as the next words came from Neji’s mouth, everything that Naruto hated, everything that tortured him became so real. “We miss you.” We. That word: “We”. Naruto knew he was referring to _him_. It made him sick to think about it.

Naruto’s eyes became cold and distant. He turned his head away without another word and pressed the button on the elevator. A second later it dinged and the doors slid open for him to enter along with the rest of the nosy crowd. Neji looked confused, as if he didn’t understand Naruto’s change in demeanor.

Of course he didn’t. In Neji’s world, he fucked up, but maybe he thought it was in some way rectifiable. To Naruto, he wanted to be cleansed of both him and Kiba. He wished so badly for the chance to make it all go away. What if he hadn’t met Neji? Would Kiba still be his best friend? Would he be happy? Would his mom be alive?

A warm tear threw him from his thoughts. Naruto quickly wiped it away before more threatened to fall.

He needed to get away. Maybe his friends were right. Maybe a vacation was just what he needed. And also, the weight of his wallet was heavy at that moment.

* * *

After class, Naruto took a long nap before his shift at Club Locust. He’d gotten a few texts from Sakura, but ignored them. By midnight he was standing outside the club’s entrance with a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes on his phone. Kisame, the bouncer, was standing in front of the door watching him.

“You comin’ in, kid?”

“Yeah, in a minute,” Naruto responded, sounding distant. Kisame shrugged and turned his attention back on the growing crowd. Naruto was doing it again. He’d typed in those dammed numbers and was staring at his phone screen. His thumb was hovering over the call button and his heart would not stay still. He knew he was making a stupid decision. He also knew that this decision was likely to get him hurt in the end. But…

He pressed down on the screen and it lit up, showing its attempt to connect his call. His palms were sweating as he hesitated to place the phone up to his ear. The ringing only made it worse for his nerves. By the fourth ring he was tempted to hang up and pretend that he’d never called, but just then…

“Hello.”

“…” Naruto covered his mouth. Then, in a panic, he hung up the phone.

That was definitely Sasuke’s voice.

The feel of his phone vibrating shook him. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a moment to breathe, before instinctively hitting the connect button and raising his phone to answer.

“H-hello?” He knew he sounded nervous and he hated it.

“Naruto! Oh my God, Takahara-san told me what happened today!” Naruto felt suddenly deflated. That was definitely not Sasuke’s voice. He tried not to think about the disappointment he felt.

“Sakura?” He asked to make sure.

“Yes! Jesus, I can’t believe Neji came up to you like that. What a prick.” Sakura nearly sounded as pissed as Naruto was earlier. While she still remained friends with Kiba, she was not shy about her disgust with Neji.

“Sakura slow down. Wait… who’s Takahara?”

“She’s not important. Just some girl who’s in the residency program with me.”

“But I thought you didn’t go to the hospital on Fridays...”

“I got called in. I’m here now. Jesus, Naruto! Stop asking questions! What happened with Neji?”

Naruto sighed and shrugged to himself. “Nothing good.” He crossed an arm over his chest, and used it to prop up his elbow as he held the phone to his ear. “He told me that _they_ missed me.”

“They?” Sakura questioned, then scoffed. “Okay, ew. Barf. What the actual fuck.”

“Yeah, I know.” His phone buzzed against his ear. “Hold on, I think I got a message.” He pulled the phone away and went into his messages.

It was from _that_ number. His heart was hammering.

He clicked on the message to open it. It read: **That was short.**

Naruto stared at it. He wanted to respond, but he didn’t know what to say.

He lifted the phone back up to his ear. “Uh, Sakura. Let me call you back.”

“Wait, Naruto!” He hung up before he heard anything else. He got a message from her a second later.

**SAKURA: NARUTO!**

Another message.

**SAKURA: You asshole!!!!!!**

He ignored them and went back to the previous message. He bit his lip as he thought.

“Hey kid,” Naruto jumped at the voice. He quickly put his phone away, as if a teacher was about to scold him for having it out, and turned to face Kisame. The bouncer ignored his skittish behavior and pointed to the entrance as he spoke, “You heading in or not?”

Naruto noticed that the line once formed outside the club doors had disappeared. People were inside and his manager was probably wondering why the customers upstairs weren’t being served any drinks.

“Shit, see ya!” Naruto scurried through the club doors, which Kisame had graciously held open for him, and headed up the stairs, two at a time, to his bar.

“You’re late, buddy,” his manager said in a lazy voice. He was behind the bar handing a couple cocktails to two giggly ladies in short sequin dresses. The man’s name was Kakashi. He was a tall, perverted man with silver hair and a young face for someone in his forties. At least, that’s what people who’ve actually gotten a good look at his face say. Kakashi wore a tightly drawn mask around his mouth. Rumor was that he had missing teeth. Some people say he’s so handsome that he hides his face as to not send the customers into shock. Naruto just assumed it was because the guy was a complete weirdo.

“I know! Only by like, five minutes.” Naruto said as he rounded the bar and scooped the glass from Kakashi’s hand, as he was about to cook up a whiskey sour for the half drunken businessman drooling at the bar. Naruto quickly took over the order as Kakashi stood back and simply watched.

“Five minutes is a long time here, Naruto. And,” Kakashi leaned back as he spoke, sifting a small book out of his back pocket as he thought. “Didn’t I see you standing outside the club before the doors opened?”

Naruto shrugged as he handed the businessman his drink. Next he fixed up a margarita for a skinny, American-looking man with chocolate brown skin. The man gave him a flirty smile as he accepted the drink. Naruto gave him a wink before turning his attention back towards his boss.

“I was on the phone,” Naruto answered halfheartedly.

“Ooooh,” Kakashi leaned forward, peering at Naruto over his book. “On the phone with who? Was it that cute pink haired girl? Or is it the blond with the big breasts?” Naruto grimaced and pushed Kakashi’s book into his face, successfully getting the man to back away.

“That’s none of your business, creepy old man.” Naruto turned and smiled at a young man who managed to push his way through to the bar.

“Well it’s my business if it interferes with my workplace.” Kakashi walked by and slapped Naruto hard on the butt with his book. “Later.” Naruto held up a middle finger at him before taking a few more orders.

Time went by fast, which was always great. It was already nearing four o’clock and the crowd was growing thin.

He was cleaning a glass when he turned at the sight at someone crossing his peripheral. He nearly dropped the glass when he saw who it was. Fumbling with it instead and setting it carefully on the counter, Naruto wiped his palms on his jeans as he approached Sasuke.

The aristocratic man was looking just as handsome as he did a week ago, and undoubtedly more attractive than he did in those sordid dreams Naruto hated to admit he was having. He wasn’t wearing anything too professional, rather a more comfortable look that Naruto had yet to see on him: just dark jeans and a long sleeve, snug sweatshirt. Naruto wondered if something so plain costs as much as he assumed it did. It looked perfect on him, and exposed his creamy neck and collar bone, something Naruto’s eyes were hungrily drawn to just before they met Sasuke’s amused ones.

Before he got too caught up, Naruto looked away and found something to clean. He took out his rag and began wiping things down as he spoke with a tone of disinterest, “What are you doing here?”

“Well,” Sasuke spoke, his right hand messing with the expensive watch on his left wrist. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation from earlier.”

“What conversation?” Naruto feigned innocence as he continued to wipe down the same spot.

Sasuke didn’t respond, and a long enough moment passed that Naruto thought he might’ve gotten up and left.

Naruto stopped his obsessive cleaning and straightened his back with a heavy sigh. Turning slowly, he saw that Sasuke was still sitting there fiddling with the face of his watch.

Naruto threw his cloth onto the counter and approached. Once he was in front of him, he leaned against the bar with both hands and glared at Sasuke. “You shouldn’t be here,” for some reason Naruto was whispering. It was as if he was afraid of being caught by some secret organization. “You’ve got a family. You shouldn’t even be talking to me.”

“Is that why you called me?” Sasuke said, sounding uninterested. Naruto, on the other hand, was suddenly flustered, but wasn’t going to back down.

“Yes, as a matter of a fact! I was calling to tell you to fuck off, and that you had no business giving me your number when you’re married and… hell on TV for crying out loud!”

Sasuke turned his intense gaze onto Naruto and it seemed to physically push Naruto back and pull him in at the same time.

“Oh?” Sasuke spoke as he stood. He leaned, ever so slightly, over the bar with his arms crossed over his chest. Naruto was only a few inches away, but couldn’t find the strength to retreat. Sasuke smelled so good, like honey and lavender. And when he spoke his next words in that low, husky tone, Naruto could swear that all of the noise around them became muddled and distant, “I was sure that you called me because you were remembering how it felt having me inside of you.”

Time seemed to stop. Sasuke smirked and Naruto’s eyes widened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All! 
> 
> New chapter updated! I hope you all enjoyed it. This story is just getting started, so I hope you'll stick with me till the end. As always, I'll be posting again next Saturday. I appreciate all the support and of course, I'd love to know what you think about the story so far. 
> 
> Till then~


	5. Fight On!

Naruto woke up feeling cranky. He only ever felt this groggy after waking up if he didn’t get the full eight hours of sleep his body craved. He also felt a pounding tension in his head, and it made it hard for him to want to open his eyes. 

He sleepily reached around for his phone, blindly hoping that he would grab hold of it within the darkness.

In his search he grabbed onto something both soft and hard. He managed to force his eyes open and immediately hissed when the sunlight hit him.

Naruto turned over and peered at the body beside him. Still disoriented, he looked around, gathering details of the faintly recognizable room. When his eyes landed on a figure standing by the door, they opened wide and he let out a loud shriek.

“AH! What the fuck!” He sat up quickly, ignoring how his head stung as he did so.

“What are you screaming about, moron?” The body lying beside him, still mostly buried underneath the comforter, spoke. It sounded like a muffled Sasuke.

Naruto’s heart was beating fast, and his breaths were coming out sharp. He rubbed his eyes with his wrist to clear up his vision, and then focused back on the figure by the door that nearly gave him a heart attack. Finally getting his head on straight, he saw that it was only Sai standing there with freshly cleaned and folded towels in his arms.

“Uh…” Naruto looked over and Sasuke was glaring up at him. The sight nearly made Naruto smile. He looked like an angry cat that’d just been disturbed from his nap. “My bad…” he grinned shyly and scratched the back of his head.

“Were you looking for your cellular device?” Sai asked pleasantly, and Naruto had to force himself not to make a comment about his choice of words.

“Uh, yeah…”

Sai sat the towels on the edge of the bed and pulled the phone from his pocket. He approached and handed it over to Naruto. “I found it on the couch.”

Naruto blushed as he accepted the device, unable to remember what had happened before he’d apparently passed out on Sasuke’s bed. Sai smiled and left the room after that.

God, his head really hurt. What time was it?

He tapped on his phone, but nothing happened. It was dead. He looked back over at Sasuke and saw that he’d turned his back to him. He looked to the nightstand and saw that the time was only 11:30 in the morning.

“Urgh,” Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed them with the heels of his hands, hoping to shed some clarity on the past few hours. “What the hell happened?” He was speaking more to himself, but Sasuke reacted to his words and sat up, the soft comforter pulling around his naked waist. As Naruto uncovered his eyes, the sight of his bed companion nearly made him drool.

Naruto shook his head to get rid of the thoughts and immediately groaned because the movements only made his aching head feel worse. He clenched his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands.

After Sasuke showed up at the club he knew they went back to Sasuke’s place and then they’d had a couple drinks and…

Naruto gasped and pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. “You drugged me didn’t you?”

Sasuke’s eye twitched at the statement. “Are you stupid?”

“Well!” Naruto got up from the bed, wearing only his bright orange boxers. He placed his hands firm on his hips, as he spoke, “Why can’t I remember getting in bed with you? And why am I practically naked?”

“Think, moron. We came here, you had two shots and somehow you got wasted on your own. The end.” Sasuke laid back down after that, turning over so that his back faced Naruto once again.

“Yeah! Because you slipped me something!”

“No,” Sasuke turned his head to glare at him. “Because apparently you have a ten-year-old’s tolerance for alcohol.” He turned away again and Naruto blushed at his words.

“So… we didn’t?”

“No. We didn’t.”

Naruto sighed. He was starting to feel a bit awkward. The fact that he was practically in a stranger’s bed wasn’t lost on him. Even though he’d been in this room, in this bed, before, it wasn’t like he and Sasuke were friends, not even close.

“Then… why am I still here?” Naruto asked, again, more to himself. Sasuke didn’t respond this time, presumably asleep. Naruto let out another heavy sigh. He didn’t know what to do. Where were his clothes anyway?

Naruto took this opportunity to creep out of the bed and take a leak. The room in the far corner appeared to be the right place to go. He slowly opened the door and was almost amazed by the size of the room. There was a Clawfoot tub, a separate glass door shower, a long sink with two golden faucets, plush black and gold speckled bath mats and steel colored walls. He almost lost the urge to go.

Once he’d finished he snuck back out into the bedroom. Sasuke was still turned over, quietly sleeping. He grabbed his phone along with his wallet and cigarettes, which he found on the nightstand, and went out into the hallway that led to the living room. Sai was there, folding more linen and placing them in a large closet connected to the living room. When Naruto was close Sai turned to him and smiled. Naruto only felt a little awkward standing there in his boxers. He figured this guy must have seen him naked already anyway.

“I’m sorry to have woken you, Naruto-san,” Sai spoke, a look of sympathy took over his passive face. It almost felt real.

“Uh, no it’s okay. I was already awake.” Naruto scratched the back of his head, coming closer to where Sai stood. “Uhm, you got my clothes? I think I should leave.”

Sai stared at him for a moment, then smiled. “Oh yes, I do. They’re washing right now.”

Naruto nodded, then looked over towards the couch. He decided he might as well wait out here, so he walked over and plopped down on the oddly comfortable leather sofa. Sai continued his work, unbothered.

As Naruto sat there, he attempted to piece things together. He still couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening between him and Sasuke, or, if anything was happening at all.

He turned his head towards something that caught his attention. On the side table there were two framed pictures. He leaned across the sofa until he was close enough to snag them both in one hand. He sat straight again and separated the frames to get a good look at them. The first was a picture of a young girl with short black hair, the same one he’d seen on the news days ago. She was sitting in a field wearing a light blue sundress. She wasn’t smiling, but she looked happy.

The other was a family picture. A stoic looking older man stood beside a woman showing off a radiant smile. Sitting in front of them were two boys. One was a young teenager sitting with his back straight and a firm hand on the other boy who appeared much younger, maybe five or six. He looked the happiest out of all of them, sitting there with a large smile and his hand up, likely waving at the cameraman. It made Naruto smile.

Then, a hand came from up above and snatched both pictures out of his hands. Naruto jumped and turned to face the culprit.

Sasuke was standing there, looking unfazed as he went to place the pictures back.

“Hey, I was looking at... Whoa! Can you put some clothes on?” Naruto covered his eyes with one hand and looked away. Sasuke was standing there, completely naked.

“Why? This is my home, and it’s not like you haven’t seen me naked.” Sasuke walked away into the kitchen. Naruto slowly removed his hand, revealing a bright red face.

“That’s different,” Naruto grumbled.

“How?” Sasuke asked and Naruto looked up. Sasuke had left the kitchen and was standing closer, drinking a glass of orange juice. Naruto looked away again.

Once Sasuke finished his orange juice, he sat the glass down on the counter and went over to the room Sai was doing laundry in. When he came out he was wearing a loose pair of joggers and holding a large tablet.

He came around the couch and sat beside Naruto, idly scrolling through the news as if it was just another day.

Naruto looked over and stared at the picture of that little girl. “How can you do this?”

“Do what?”

“Go behind your family’s back.”

Sasuke stopped his scrolling, his eyes narrowing at the statement. “You don’t know anything about my family.” Naruto could sense the venom laced in those words.

Naruto sighed before he spoke again, “You’re right.” Sasuke resumed his scrolling.

Sai came out a moment later holding folded clothes in one hand. He walked around the couch and held them in front of Naruto’s face.

“Thanks,” Naruto spoke and accepted them. Sai nodded and smiled before going back to what he was doing. Naruto stood up and began dressing. It bothered him that, once again, Sasuke was sitting there completely ignoring him.

Once he was fully dressed in the previous night’s work outfit, he pocketed his phone, wallet and cigarettes, then stood there looking down at Sasuke.

“Do you need something?” Sasuke said sounding bored.

Naruto glared down at him, “Don’t call me.”

Sasuke paused and tilted his head back to face Naruto. “Did I call you? I don’t remember doing that.” Naruto paused when he realized Sasuke was right.

Naruto shook his head. “No! I mean, delete my number.”

Sasuke crossed his arms. “Do you think you have the right to tell me what to do?”

Naruto huffed. “Why are you such an asshole?”

“I’m the asshole?” Sasuke raised a brow, looking up as if he was in thought. “I suppose _I’m_ the one who invited _myself_ into _your_ place, got disturbingly trashed then passed out in _your_ bed, all the while insulting _you_ for… what was it again? Oh yes, being a ‘dirty, cheating, lying bastard just like…’ What was his name? Neji, right? Yes. A ‘dirty, cheating, lying bastard just like that dickhead, _Neji_ ’.” Naruto’s face flushed.

“I said that?” Naruto whispered to himself.

Sasuke gave him a pointed look then focused his attention back on his tablet.

“So to answer you,” Sasuke continued. “I never saved your number and I don’t plan to. You have successfully burned that bridge. Congratulations.”

Naruto looked embarrassed. But, more upsettingly, he felt a bit hurt. It’s true; Sasuke’s married and Naruto really hated that about him. Even so, he’d be lying if he hadn’t developed some sort of insane crush for the man over the days he’d spent thinking about their little fling.

Naruto looked away, shoving his hands in his pockets as he did so. He felt his chest tightening. “Well,” he pouted. “Why didn’t you just kick me out then?”

“Because, it was six in the morning and, as bastardly as you seem to think I am, I don’t care to throw drunken idiots out on the street at odd hours.”

Naruto nodded, “Okay I get it.” Instead of leaving as he’d previously mentioned, to Sasuke’s surprise, Naruto plopped down beside him on the couch.

Sasuke’s eyebrow rose and he turned to face him as he spoke. “Weren’t you leaving?”

Naruto ignored him. He didn’t feel right just leaving. He also didn’t necessarily owe Sasuke anything but… “I should make it up to you,” Naruto decided and turned to Sasuke with a wide Cheshire grin.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “We’re not having sex again. I was sure that I made that clear.”

Naruto rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Jesus, is that all you think about?” Naruto realized Sasuke probably made that same assumption when Naruto first offered to “make it up to him” when he’d spilled that coffee on him. “I’m talking about lunch.”

“Lunch?”

“Yeah, let me treat you.” Naruto was still grinning like an idiot.

“Why?”

“Well, even though I still think you’re sort of shitty for sleeping around behind your family’s back, you did have the decency to let me crash here.” Naruto shrugged. “Even if you are a scummy prick.”

Sasuke tilted his head, his face emotionless as he spoke, “Wow…. I’m in tears.”

Naruto chuckled and shook his head, before responding, “Is that a ‘yes’?” He wiggled his eyebrows and shimmied his shoulders. He thought he saw something like a smile form of Sasuke’s mouth, but whatever it was, it went away in a blink.

“Whatever,” Sasuke got up. “Sai, bring me something to wear,” Sasuke spoke as he got up and made his way back to his room.

Naruto sat there on the couch as he left. For some reason, he was still smiling.

 

* * *

 

“You really didn’t need to dress so...” Naruto started to say as they headed out of the lavish building.

Sasuke looked over at him and asked, “’So’ what?” Naruto turned his head to eye Sasuke’s outfit. The man looked like royalty in his black Givenchy suit. Compared to Naruto, who was wearing his work clothes, Sasuke looked like some sort of prince.

As he continued to eye him, Sasuke was still waiting for him to explain himself with a quizzical look.

Naruto shook his head, thinking it was best to leave it alone, he said, “Never mind. The place is only a couple blocks from here so we can walk.”

As soon as they stepped outside Naruto squinted at the sun. It reminded him that the day was just beginning. He was rarely out when the sun was directly above. He reached into his back pocket for his cigarettes and pulled out one. Sasuke watched him as he lit it and inhaled the nicotine, but didn’t say anything.

Even though the walk was short, Naruto still didn’t feel he knew Sasuke well enough to be comfortable in the silence, so he thought of something to say. “What’s your daughter’s name?” was the first thing that came to mind and he wished he’d thought about that question before asking it. Why in the hell would he ask a guy he’s sleeping with about his family? Sasuke seemed to think the same thing by the way he narrowed his eyes at Naruto in response. Even though ‘sleeping together’ is a bit of a reach considering they’d only had one night of passion.

To Naruto’s surprise, Sasuke simply answered, “Sarada.”

Naruto thought about the name and nodded, “That’s pretty.” He felt like he had to roll with it after that. “Did you name her?”

Sasuke looked away, unsure of why they were having this sort of conversation. Even so, the questions seemed harmless, so he answered easily, “I did.”

“She looks like you.”

“She does.”

“How often do you see her?”

“Often enough.” They turned a corner and began walking across the street.

“Hm,” Naruto thought to himself. He was getting distracted by his own musing, and for some reason, his mother came to mind. “She probably misses you when you’re gone.”

Sasuke looked at him, but didn’t respond.

“It must be nice, having people like that in your life.”

Sasuke stopped in the middle of the cross walk. The walk sign was still on. He turned to Naruto with his arms crossed, “I’ll tell you this only because it seems to bother you so much. My wife knows that I sleep around.”

Naruto was shocked to hear this, but more shocked that Sasuke had the audacity to stand in the middle of the road. “What? Wait… Can we move away from here?” Naruto tugged at Sasuke’s arm, but he didn’t budge.

Sasuke smirked, “Are you afraid?”

Naruto huffed. “Wow. You really are an asshole, Jesus.” Naruto crossed his arms and defiantly stared up at him. Sasuke tilted his head in a cocky, challenging manor. Naruto continued, “I was just making conversation y’know? Ever heard of a thing called ‘ _trying to be nice_ ’? And I didn’t ask. Besides, like you said, we’re not even doing _that_ again. Just friends, right?” Naruto leaned back and smiled cheekily.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “Friends?”

A car horn blared from beside them. Naruto jumped and they both looked at the angry culprit fuming behind the wheel of his sedan. Sasuke lifted his middle finger up at him. Naruto chuckled, but grabbed Sasuke’s vulgar hand and pulled them both to safety before that man had half a mind to run them over.

Once again on the sidewalk Naruto laughed again. “You’re actually the most arrogant person I’ve ever met.”

Sasuke still wanted to know what exactly Naruto meant when he called them ‘friends’ but didn’t get the chance when Naruto turned around and pointed out where they would be eating. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the bright sign that read in bold, tacky typography: ICHIRAKU RAMEN.

“Ramen?” Sasuke spat out the word as if the idea itself was taboo. Naruto looked at him and grinned.

“Yeah, I love this place.”

“I’m not surprised.”

Naruto frowned, “Hey! What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Sasuke sighed, “I shouldn’t have to explain.” They approached the small ramen shop after that and went through the sliding doors towards the bar.

“Naruto!” A cute girl wearing a white hakama walked around the bar to greet them as soon as they entered. There was only one customer there besides them and he was busy sucking down his third bowl of noodles in one of the booths. Sasuke did his best not grimace. Even if he wanted to, he was quickly distracted when the previously mentioned girl brushed past him to give Naruto a hug. “It’s been so long since you’ve come in. I usually only see you if I’m on the delivery shift.” Naruto chuckled and she giggled in return. “Oh!” The girl jumped when she noticed Sasuke’s presence and backed away into a comfortable distance. “My apologies, I didn’t see you there.” Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes.

“Ayame,” Naruto gestured between them. “This is my friend, Sasuke.” There goes that word again. “Sasuke, this is Ayame. I’ve known her for what?” He tilted his head as he thought of the number. “Fifteen years now?”

Ayame nodded cutely. “Yep, I was just volunteering here for my grandpa when this little fox baby first came in with his chubby cheeks.” She reached over and pinched one of Naruto’s whiskered cheeks for show.

Naruto chuckled but also pulled Ayame’s hand from his face. “C’mon Aya, I’m not a kid anymore.” Naruto pouted jokingly and she smiled at him with warm eyes.

“Yeah, I know…” She let her eyes take in Naruto’s figure. Sasuke was simply staring at the exchange. Naruto seemed as oblivious as ever.

Naruto looked to Sasuke. “This place is great. I usually get the house style Ichiraku ramen.”

“I’ll just have tea.”

Naruto’s eyebrows scrunched at the statement. “You’re not hungry?”

“Not exactly,” Sasuke shrugged. Naruto opened his mouth and pointed.

“Oh I get it! You don’t think the food will be good ‘cause we’re not at some five-star European restaurant.”

Sasuke shrugged again, not denying the statement. Naruto glared at him, then turned back to Ayame, who seemed lost in her own thoughts.

“Let’s get two house style bowls and two green teas. I want mine iced.”

“Wait…” Sasuke started to say.

“Coming right up!” Ayame beamed and bounced back behind the counter to start preparing their teas.

Sasuke sighed and turned to Naruto with a weak expression. “You don’t seriously expect me to eat this, do you?”

Naruto grinned, “I do.”

Ayame came back with the teas. She smiled and nodded at them as she slid them over, then went back to begin drawing the noodles.

Sasuke spoke once she was out of earshot. “Doesn’t she know that you like being fucked by men?” Naruto nearly spat out his tea.

Naruto turned to him with wide eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sasuke took a calm sip of his tea, mentally noted that it wasn’t terrible, and pointed towards Ichiraku’s kitchen where Ayame was. “She wants to have sex with you.”

Naruto’s face scrunched up. “No, ew, she’s like a big sister to me.”

“Yeah,” Sasuke scoffed. “You’re an idiot.”

“What? How does that make me an idiot?”

Sasuke took another sip of his tea, then rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb. “She looked at you like you were a steak and… she hadn’t eaten in days.”

Naruto chuckled and shook his head. “No, I think I would know if she wanted to sleep with me. And, for the record, I’m sure she doesn’t.” Naruto grabbed his iced drink and sucked down a good amount. He didn’t feel too confident in his conclusion about Ayame, and it made him feel a bit awkward to think that she saw him that way. But, he didn’t want to lose to Sasuke.

“You didn’t know before.”

“Before what?” Naruto turned to look at him and Sasuke was staring back with intense eyes. Naruto blushed.

Sasuke spoke low enough for only them to hear. “You didn’t know that I wanted to fuck you the moment I saw you.” Naruto choked and leaned away.

“Two house style bowls!” Ayame’s voice cut between the building tension. She placed the bowls in front of them, along with some chopsticks, and then bowed her head. “Enjoy.” She smiled and walked off to a woman who’d just taken another seat at the bar.

Naruto still felt a bit lightheaded from Sasuke’s comment, so he immediately dug into his dish. After a couple bites he peeked over at Sasuke who hadn’t even broke apart his chopsticks yet. His face was still red, but he tried to act like what Sasuke said didn’t affect him nearly as much as it did. He spoke to him through a mouth full of half-chewed ramen, “You’re seriously not going to eat?”

Sasuke took another sip of his tea and peered over at Naruto with a look of disgust as he watched him shove another bunch of noodles into his mouth. He looked down at the steaming bowl in front of him and felt his stomach move. He let out a small sigh in defeat, put down his tea and broke open his chopsticks. Naruto stopped eating to stare at him. Sasuke looked back at Naruto. “Are you planning on monitoring?”

Naruto grinned and nodded, feeling less awkward and more amused at Sasuke’s sudden discomfort.

Sasuke shook his head and looked back down at the noodles. He rolled the chopsticks into the dish and came out with the noodles spun neatly around the two sticks. Slowly, he took the noodles into his mouth, slurped them up as neatly as he could and began chewing.

“Well?” Naruto spoke.

Sasuke continued to chew as his dark eyes shifted to look at Naruto. He swallowed and answered with a shrug.

Naruto scoffed, “Wha- oh come on!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.”

Naruto grinned, “You like it, don’t you?”

Sasuke glared, but there was no menace behind it.

“Oh admit it already,” Naruto chuckled. He didn’t notice the sound of bells chiming behind him, as the door to Ichiraku was swung open.

“Shut up.” Sasuke spoke and went for another bite. He also didn’t notice the footsteps approaching.

“Naruto…” A voice broke the mood. Sasuke looked at Naruto first, his usually tan face had turned incredibly pale. Naruto was suddenly gripping his chopsticks tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. Both Sasuke and Naruto looked back at the same time. Two men were standing there: one with shaggy brown hair and gaudy red tattoos on his cheeks, and the other a creepy looking guy with short, spiky black hair wearing dark sunglasses.

“Kiba…” Naruto seethed.

“Hey Naruto, I just want to talk…” Kiba spoke quickly.

“What the fuck. Are you two stalking me now?” He was referring to Neji. Naruto got up from his stool, looking like he was ready to swing at him.

“Wait, what? I don’t know what you’re…” Kiba stammered.

“You stay away from me, and tell your _boyfriend_ to do the same,” Naruto spat out the word ‘boyfriend’ like it was poison.

“Naruto, come on, I just want to talk.” Kiba said again, trying to be as cautious as possible.

“Talk about what? What does everyone want to _talk_ about it? I’ve got nothing to say, Kiba.”

Kiba looked put out, unable to counter that. He looked at Sasuke for the first time and Sasuke almost rolled his eyes when Kiba predictably said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Sasuke spoke and Naruto cooled down a bit at the sound of his voice. He remembered where he was.

“Shit,” Naruto put a hand on his forehead, feeling embarrassed. He turned to Sasuke, “I’m really sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Kiba said. Naruto glared at him, but didn’t respond. “I’m Kiba.”

“Hn,” Sasuke responded with a short nod.

“You two are…?” Kiba began.

“None of your business.” Naruto interjected and Kiba retreated from the subject entirely. “I’m not even hungry anymore,” Naruto grumbled.

“Look, I saw you come in here from across the street… I just… Can we please talk sometime, when you’re ready?” Kiba finally managed to say. When Naruto responded to him with another glare, he took that as his cue to go. “Just think about it. Sorry again for interrupting.” Kiba waved at them both and then finally left.

Naruto plopped down in his stool once they were gone. He put both hands over his face and sighed. When he moved his hands he chuckled and looked towards Sasuke who appeared unfazed.

“That was totally awkward.” Naruto said through his embarrassed chuckle.

“I’m guessing that’s the ex-best friend who your dirty, cheating ex-boyfriend slept with behind your back?” Sasuke said easily as he finished off his tea.

Naruto’s eyes widened. “What? How do you know that? I didn’t…”

“You did.”

Naruto groaned.

After that, they finished eating as much as they could. Naruto was happy to see that Sasuke had consumed over half of his ramen before resting his chopsticks. As promised, he paid for the two of them and they left the shop with a warm send off from Ayame.

As they left, Naruto spotted something in a store window across the street. On the corner, there was a retro looking shop with the word “JoyStick” mounted in large red letters over the roof of the building. Naruto’s mouth hung open for a moment as he pointed at the poster plastered over all of the building’s windows. It was of two ninjas, one in red and the other in black. They were clashing swords and staring at each other with fire in their eyes through they’re intricate masks. It was the advertisement for the new Ninja Tournament game. It must have just been released. He hadn’t even realized the launch date was so soon.

Naruto looked to Sasuke, expecting some sort of reaction. When he received a lack luster response filled with complete disinterest, he deflated and asked, “What am I thinking? Of course you don’t play video games.”

“Oh?” Sasuke gave a Sasuke-version of a shocked face and said, “Did I give myself away?”

“Ha. Ha.” Naruto rolled his eyes. Then, he unexpectedly grabbed Sasuke’s wrist and gave it a light tug. “Come on, you still have time right?”

Sasuke looked into the blonde’s mischievous blue eyes and wasn’t sure if he’d like whatever Naruto had planned.

 

* * *

 

 

Inside the gaming store across the street from Ichiraku revealed a world for everything nerdy. On the walls there were posters ranging from overtly sexual shoujo anime to 80s samurai movies. There was a section for vinyl records, DVDs and VHS tapes as well as old to new video games and systems. In the far corner of the store there was a large TV mounted on the wall and hooked up to it was a system with the new Ninja Tournament game Naruto had mention loaded up and ready to go.

When they got inside, Naruto dragged Sasuke to the back, as if he already knew what would be waiting for them.

They stopped in front of the TV that was displaying the intro to the newest, hottest fighting game on the market. Fighters were transforming into animals, disappearing into puffs of smoke, shooting throwing knives and ninja stars at each other. The high-energy preview showed each character in tandem, revealing their killer techniques and new improvements from, what Sasuke could tell, was the previous installment of the video game series. How cheesy could it get? And yet, Naruto was staring at it like a salivating pre-teen.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets, watching as Naruto eagerly reached for the dangling controller. What he wasn’t expecting was for Naruto to grab the other controller and hand it to him.

Naruto grinned at Sasuke when instead of accepting the controller; he looked at it with pure distaste. Naruto lightly shook the controller, urging for Sasuke to take it, but he let it hang in Naruto’s hand with no intension of obliging him.

“What do you expect me to do with that?” Sasuke asked, turning his nose up to further accentuate his reluctance.

“What do you think? I don’t want to play alone.”

Sasuke shrugged and looked away. “Then drag some other idiot here to play with you.”

Naruto pouted for a moment, nudging Sasuke’s side with the controller. He could see Sasuke’s growing irritation, but he still wasn’t budging.

“Oh come on,” Naruto whined, “Just one game.”

“I don’t think so.” Sasuke slapped Naruto’s hand away when the nudging became too much for his nerves. He wondered briefly why he was even hanging around this twenty-year-old who was clearly obsessed with things beyond his spectrum.

Naruto grinned; this time looking like a devious idea had crossed his mind. He leaned closer to Sasuke and whispered, “You’re afraid you’ll lose, aren’t ya?”

Sasuke grit his teeth and leaned back, looking absolutely offended. “Get real.”

“You are!” Naruto poked him for good measure then crossed his arms in a show of haughtiness. “You’re definitely the type of guy who hates doing things he doesn’t think he’ll be good at.” Naruto decided and nodded his head at the conclusion.

“Idiot.” Sasuke said through his gritted teeth. He was getting fed up.

Naruto shrugged and let out an exasperated sigh, “Well, it can’t be helped. You can’t be good at everything. There’s bound to be something even the mighty  _Uchiha-sama_ sucks at.”

After that Naruto felt the spare controller get snatched from his hand. He quickly looked to Sasuke who was glaring at the TV screen.

“One game.” Sasuke confirmed.

Naruto nodded, happy that his tactics had worked, but also surprised that Sasuke had such a childish side to him. It definitely beat his know-it-all, obnoxious, arrogant side. He wouldn’t admit to himself that he thought it was cute. Sasuke was anything but _cute._

Naruto started up the game. He spent a moment of their time showing Sasuke the basics to the fighting structure and telling him about the origins of the game. He talked about how it started out as a platformer and evolved into the fighting game that it was now. Naruto was surprised that Sasuke nodded in some interest to what he was saying. Even if he did feel like he was talking a bit much, Sasuke just listened quietly as they picked out their characters.

Two minutes of battling later, Naruto stared at the screen with his mouth open and his eyes wide.

Sasuke was smirking down at him.

“You…” Naruto pointed at the screen. “You beat me…” He watched as his character’s head was brutally decapitated by Sasuke’s. He grabbed at the screen, as if it would help him comprehend what had just happened. He turned to Sasuke with his wide, hopeless eyes and proclaimed, “You liar!”

Both of Sasuke’s eyebrows went up at this accusation.

Naruto went on, “You’ve totally played this game before! You’re a total undercover geek aren’t you?”

Sasuke scoffed and looked away. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then how?” Naruto whined and Sasuke shrugged again.

“It’s easy. All you’re doing is pressing buttons.”

“It’s so much more than that! You landed an eighteen hit combo! _Eight-teen_ hits, Sasuke! That’s like… I can’t even do that.” Naruto was still amazed. Sasuke didn’t get what the big deal was. But, he could admit that beating Naruto so thoroughly gave him a great feeling of empowerment.

When Naruto turned to him with determined eyes, Sasuke knew what he was about to say and immediate shook his head. “No.”

“Come on,” Naruto whined, and again Sasuke was reminded of their age difference.

“I said one game.”

Naruto continued to stare up at him with his unwavering eyes. Sasuke glared back at him. The two stared at each other this way for a full minute before Sasuke finally gave in.

 

* * *

 

 

Ten games later Naruto and Sasuke were walking back. Naruto’s shoulders were slumped after his devastating defeat while Sasuke walked uncaringly beside him, but secretly reveling in his victory.

Sasuke silently agreed to walk Naruto to his apartment since it wasn’t too far from where they were. When they got there they stood outside of Naruto’s door.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and spoke; “I can’t believe you beat me eleven times in a row.” He sounded a bit more lighthearted when he said it this time, which had been the hundredth time since they left the nerd-store.

Sasuke smirked, finding Naruto’s disheartened expression a bit endearing. Even though there were a million things he could’ve said back, he simply shrugged his shoulders at Naruto’s admission.

A moment of silence passed. For the first time that day, Naruto realized this situation was a bit awkward. This was the same guy whom he was sure he’d never want to meet again, right? He was the arrogant, scumbag who was cheating on his wife to sleep around with men, wasn’t he? The same guy who carelessly slept with him, the same guy who disregarded him up until then, the same guy who Naruto was sickeningly obsessed with, but was so wrong for him in so many ways…

He’d never imaged that underneath all of his bastardly tendencies, Sasuke was sort of… normal.

Without giving it much thought, Naruto asked, “Should I invite you in?”

Sasuke shook his head without hesitation and explained, “I actually have a meeting to get to.” Naruto nodded. He did his best to hide his disappointment. He wasn’t ready to admit that he actually enjoyed Sasuke’s company.

Naruto wondered if they’d been the same age at the same school if they’d be friends. If circumstances were different, would they have dated like normal people?

It didn’t help that everything about this moment felt like the ending of a date, and it made Naruto feel jittery and uneasy. What made it even worse was in the next moment Sasuke’s hand was on his cheek, lifting his head up so that he could give him a kiss. It was short, but slow enough to feel sensual. Sasuke’s lips gripped onto Naruto’s bottom lip and slowly tugged on it as they separated.

Naruto’s eyes were closed when they pulled apart. He was taken by the soft kiss. It felt nothing like what they shared before. When he opened his eyes seconds later, he gave Sasuke a small smile.

Trying not to sound effected by the moment they had just shared, Naruto said in a lighthearted manor, “I guess I won’t ever see you again.” Sasuke raised his eyebrow at this before Naruto continued, “Since, you know, you didn’t save my number.” He realized Naruto was referring to his earlier comments.

Sasuke shrugged, looking cocky. “You still have my number. I won’t tell you what to do with it.”

Naruto rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Arrogant bastard.”

A voice cut in before Sasuke could respond to the insult. “Whoa, I am so sorry.” They both turned their heads towards the intrusion.

Sakura was standing there looking shocked, holding a bag of groceries in one hand and the strap of her purse with the other.

“Uh…” was all Naruto could think to say

She pointed behind her, “Should I come by later, Naruto?”

Naruto blushed, scratching the back of his head shyly. “Uh, no it’s fine.” He looked up at Sasuke for a moment, “He was just leaving.”

Sasuke nodded and backed away from Naruto after realizing how incredibly close they were. He didn’t say anything else and simply walked past Sakura with a short nod of acknowledgement before he rounded the corner and was gone.

Sakura watched him go then turned to Naruto with her mouth wide open. She walked towards him and pointed in the direction Sasuke went. “Okay, he is so much hotter in person. Jesus.” She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. “Now I totally get why you’d ignore my fucking calls,” she slapped his arm as she said the last part and Naruto realized he hadn’t checked his phone yet that day.

“Ow!” He rubbed the sore spot where Sakura hit. “Sorry, my phone’s dead.” Naruto turned and unlocked his door. They walked in and Sakura set the bag of groceries down on the counter. They looked at each other after that and Sakura motioned for him to talk. Naruto cocked his head to the side, unsure of what she was asking of him.

Sakura rolled her eyes and said, “Sooo...”

“So?” Naruto countered.

Sakura rolled her eyes. “What happened to never seeing him again?”

Naruto walked over and plopped down on the couch. “I wouldn’t say I’m ‘seeing him’.”

Sakura tilted her head, “Really?” She tapped her chin, looking mockingly intrigued. “Because that looked a lot like two people seeing each other out there.”

Naruto shook his head. “I don’t know.” He sat up straight, “I don’t get him at all. He’s a total asshole, believe it, but he’s also… I don’t know.”

Sakura sat beside Naruto with her purse and a bottle of water that she likely grabbed from the bag she’d brought over. She took a gulp before she offered a sip to Naruto as he thought to himself. He declined the offer and she shrugged.

After a moment she spoke again, “You like him, don’t you?”

Naruto laughed incredulously. “No! I don’t like him. That’s crazy. I barely know him.” He realized he sounded a bit frantic when he said this, and willed himself to calm down.

Sakura nodded, taking note of how skittish he’d gotten with his answer, before she continued, “Yeah, but you’ve slept with him on two different occasions and you were looking at him like high school Naruto on his first date out there.”

“Well, for you information, we didn’t sleep together last night we just…” Naruto looked away. For a moment, he wasn’t sure how to put it. “Well,” he continued, “We just... slept together...”

Sakura narrowed her eyes in thought. “Wait so, you met up with him and you just slept… beside him?”

“Yeah, and then we went to Ichiraku…”

“You went to Ichiraku? Your favorite food place!”

“No! It was just…”

“So wait!” Sakura hopped up, enthusiastic as ever. She started pacing as she spoke, “You sleep with this guy, who’s apparently an asshole, but obviously is a very, very hot asshole. You find out that he’s married and has a kid, let’s not forget that little bit of info. Then, you meet up with him again and DON’T have sex, and instead sleep together, in the same bed no doubt. THEN, you take him on a date to your favorite food place. He walks you home, kisses you, yeah I totally saw that by the way, and you’re telling me that you don’t like him?” She stopped, crossed her arms and stared down at him. He didn’t think it would help his case if he told her about going to JoyStick, so he omitted that.

“No.” Naruto huffed and looked away. “I’m telling you that I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing with this guy.”

Sakura’s eyes went from amused to sympathetic. She sat down beside him and rubbed his shoulder with a soothing hand. “Oh, Naruto,” she cooed sweetly.

“He told me today that his wife knew he was sleeping around.”

Sakura scoffed and shook her head. “That’s probably a lie.”

Naruto looked at her then, unwilling to admit that her words struck a cord, “You think so?”

Sakura nodded, “Totally. If that Sasuke guy looks half as hot naked as I think he does, no woman would ever be okay with sharing that man.”

Naruto sighed, partially amused by Sakura’s words but also disturbingly upset at the idea of Sasuke lying to him. “Maybe you’re right,” he said softly. Why was his heart sinking as he thought about it? He tried not to look too hard for the answer.

“But wait!” Sakura perked up as a thought came to mind. “You never told me what happened with Neji.” Naruto had completely forgotten about that little interaction.

“Right,” Naruto grumbled. “He came up to me after you and Hinata dropped me off. Kiba sniffed me out too.”

“Wait, what? It was both of them?”

Naruto shook his head. “No, It was just Neji and then today Kiba came up to us while we were at Ichiraku.”

“What the fuck...”

“Yeah, I know. I wish they would just let me wash my hands of this.” Sakura nodded, unsure of what to say. Naruto leaned back and fished around the couch for the remote. Sakura found it first and handed it to him.

“You think your boyfriend is on TV again?” She joked and Naruto slapped her leg playfully. Sakura laughed at Naruto’s red face.

“Shut up! Don’t say that.”

“I’m kidding!”

Naruto pouted, “He’s not my boyfriend. Not even close.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

They sat in front of the TV just flipping through channels. Naruto couldn’t help but let his mind drift. Sasuke really was a mysterious guy. He just couldn’t make sense of him. He was unmistakably the most disrespectful, arrogant, uptight, prick Naruto had ever met. And yet, there was a side to him that was undoubtedly charming and hard to dismiss. It was hard to comprehend the way Naruto felt about him, especially since they’d only met a few times. It was completely messed up that, even so, he couldn’t seem to get the bastard off of his mind.

All that considered, there was one thing that was certain: this whole mess he was getting into was a bad idea. Experiencing a day like this where he felt like he could actually like Sasuke; like there was any type of connection between them that wasn’t sexual was an enormous red flag in his eyes. Sasuke was married. He was married and he had a kid, a whole separate life to what he revealed to Naruto. And what if Sakura was right? Did he lie to him about his wife knowing just to get Naruto to stop talking about his family? Did he feel guilty at all for what he was doing? Was Sasuke really the type of coward to lie like that? Naruto was starting to find it hard to believe.

And yet, whether or not that was a lie, it didn’t change the fact that Sasuke just wasn’t “boyfriend material”. He was far from it. And knowing that, for some odd reason, irritated Naruto more than ever.

“I think I’ve changed my mind.” Naruto said, taking himself away from his train of thought.

“About what?” Sakura spoke, sounding distracted, her eyes still focused on the television.

Naruto turned his body to fully face Sakura. “The trip. I want to go with you guys.”

Sakura turned to him and smiled, “The onsen trip that you totally shat on?”

Naruto chuckled, “Yeah, that one.”

“Great!” Sakura bounced around in her seat, reaching in her bag for her phone. “Yay, I’m so excited! I’ll let Ino know.”

“Wait.” Naruto stopped her and she paused to look at him, “I want to do something first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey-hey! 
> 
> So I decided I would post this chapter a day early. As always, I'm super grateful that you're all reading and (hopefully) enjoying this story. So far, I've been really happy with the mixed responses. I'm excited to see what you all think of this latest update. 
> 
> Next chapter will be up next Saturday (not tomorrow obviously), unless I'm feeling like posting on Friday which may be the case, we'll see. 
> 
> Anyway, Happy Valentines Day everyone! And thanks again for sticking through this story with me! Until next time~ <3 
> 
> PS. A little tidbit that I'm not sure too many people will get: "Fight On!" is what the announcer for Killer Instinct said before each battle. That was my favorite fighting game... just saying.


	6. Gaara

“Hey mom,” Naruto spoke, feeling suffocated and cold as he stared down at the marble stone. The words engraved on the rock read: “Kushina Uzumaki” in bold lettering. Underneath it: “July 10, 1975 – October 9, 2017”.

His father was standing beside him. They were both wearing suits. Behind them were all his friends: Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee and Hinata.

Minato placed a firm hand on Naruto’s shoulder.

“She’s pissed at us, you know.” Minato said, sounding peaceful despite his words. “She’d say something like: ‘what are you two idiots doing out here moping around?’ You should be enjoying life’.”

Naruto looked over at his father and smiled. “Yeah, and then she’d pinch my cheeks extra hard so that I would stop frowning.”

Minato let out a deep chuckle.

“You know," Sakura chimed in, "I remember how she used to take us on hikes and make us hold hands if we started arguing.”

Ino’s eyes brightened as if she’d just remembered something, “Oh and we used to play that game! Remember?” Everyone turned to her.

Sakura pointed to her, “Hidden Ninja! We would pretend to be ninjas and try to sneak up on her.”

“Oh yeah,” Chouji spoke, “I always lost that game.”

“That’s cause you were so chubby, it’s not like you had much to hide behind.” Ino mumbled. Chouji glared at her, and then went for a kiss and she obliged.

“Yeah, you love it though.” Chouji wiggled his eyebrows and Ino giggled.

“Save it for the bedroom guys,” Shikamaru joked and Ino playfully slapped his arm with the back of her hand.

“Shut up. Besides, Aunty Kushina was the one who told me to say yes to going out with Chouji in the first place.” Ino looked up at the sky. “I bet she’d be proud.”

Naruto smiled and turned to Ino. “I never knew that.”

Ino nodded happily. “Yep! I was going to say no initially, but,” she shrugged as she remembered that day. She was hanging out with Sakura at Naruto’s family home. She went downstairs to get a glass of water from the kitchen where Kushina was chopping up vegetables in preparation for dinner. Nobody had noticed Ino’s change in demeanor that day. Nobody knew that Chouji had pulled her behind the school building to confess and that Ino hadn’t said anything back and instead ran away. But Kushina dug out the truth in a matter of seconds.

“But?” Sakura asked, returning Ino to her original train of thoughts.

Ino shook her head, “But she told me that if I didn’t say no right away that just meant that I was afraid of saying yes.”

Minato smiled kindly and looked down at Kushina’s headstone. “Sounds like my wife,” he said in a soft voice. “If she wanted it, she went for it. Even if she knew it was going to end badly, even if she knew she shouldn’t, she always said to me, ‘If you don’t go for the things you want, what are you living for?’”

“She said something like that to me once too.” Naruto said. His eyes were glazed over with nostalgia. Their attention turned to him. “When um…” Naruto tried not to sound too broken as he spoke. “Uhm, when y’know, when Neji and I started… seeing each other…” Naruto nodded to himself, assuring that he wasn’t going to break over a silly memory. “I told mom first,” he looked at his dad for a moment before looking down again. “And, for some reason I thought that everything was going to be over, y’know? Like, I have the perfect mom and the perfect dad; me being gay might be the one thing that destroys all of that.” Naruto nodded again, now lost in the memory. “I told her I was gay and that there was this guy that I had been dating.” He smiled now. “And, she looked at me and said, ‘Is he cute?’” He laughed a little and so did his friends. “Then, she told me that there was nothing to be ashamed of. She said ‘If I were the type of mother to tell you that you can’t be who you really are, then I would be the type of mother who doesn’t want her child to live’.”

 

* * *

 

They spent another hour sitting around Kushina’s grave, exchanging memories and laughing about the better times. When they left, they all went their separate ways to pack and prepare for the trip to Kyushu.

The next morning they flew out and landed in Fukuoka two hours later. Hinata arranged for a car to pick them up and chauffer them to the onsen. Once there, they all changed into their yukata and lounged around in the girl’s room.

Shikamaru sat beside Naruto with a bottle of sake and two cups. He handed one to Naruto and poured a generous amount of the alcohol in each. “So,” Shikamaru spoke as he sat the sake aside. “I heard you’re seeing some new guy.”

“Sakura told you?” Naruto asked and Shikamaru nodded, taking another sip. Naruto shook his head and sighed.

Hinata and Chouji joined their conversation. “What’s up?” Chouji said and held out two cups for Shikamaru to pour. Once full he handed one to Hinata and downed his in one gulp.

“Talking about that dude Naruto is seeing,” Shikamaru said carelessly.

“Oh yeah,” Chouji nodded. “How’s that going anyway?”

Naruto rolled his eyes, “God, why is Sakura telling everybody that?” He grumbled and sent a glare over to his pink haired, so-called friend who was oblivious, talking enthusiastically with Ino and Lee about her residency program. He turned back to Shikamaru. “I’m not seeing him. He’s just some guy.” Naruto shrugged.

“So you saw him again after the first time?” Hinata said and it made Naruto blush.

“Yeah but,” he suddenly felt uncomfortable. “It wasn’t like the first time, we just hung out…” he said, and then clarified, “As friends.”

“Friends, huh?” Shikamaru raised and eyebrow at this, but Naruto simply nodded.

“Yeah… friends.”

“Well I for one am happy that you decided to see him again…” Hinata said, then clarified, “As friends. Of course.” She smiled sweetly and Naruto returned it with a less confident smile of his own.

“I think I’m gonna take a dip.” Naruto said, effectively changing the subject. “Are you guys coming?”

“In a minute,” Shikamaru nodded. “I think I’ll take a short nap first.” Chouji seconded that and Naruto assumed Lee would join with them. So, he left the room alone and headed down to the spring.

Five minutes in he realized he’d gotten lost on his way, and was wishing someone had decided to come with him. The place was so huge it was like he was going in circles. The first person he saw was a woman walking with flashy red hair, wearing a custom made yukata.

“Excuse me,” he called out to her and it effectively stopped her. She turned, pushing up her designer glasses to get a better look at him.

“Yes?” She said in a honey-like voice that was somehow both sweet and authoritative. The woman was breathtaking. For a moment, Naruto was caught off guard by how stunning she was. And then a thought occurred that maybe he’d seen her before, but he couldn’t quite place where. He hadn’t realized that now he had been staring at this woman after getting her attention for almost a full minute now until her face turned from moderately friendly to creeped out and annoyed. “Okay,” she said and turned to leave.

“No wait! I’m sorry. It’s just…” Naruto stared at her again, this time for a much shorter period of time. “It’s just that I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before. I didn’t mean to stare.” He was blushing now, feeling awkward with the situation he’d put himself in.

“Young man, I’m married. So, if you’re trying to hit on me…”

“No! No, that’s not it!” She was taken aback by his overreaction and looked even more annoyed. He noticed and fumbled to correct himself. “Wait, no! I didn’t mean it like you aren’t beautiful. You’re gorgeous. It’s just that I’m gay, so I’m not trying to hit on you is all.” He gave her a nervous grin. Her sharp eyes were so intense; he could feel himself sweating under her gaze. “Oh geez,” Naruto put a hand over his eyes. “This is so awkward. I’m sorry. I was just going to ask for directions to the men’s baths.”

The woman let out a soft chuckle, amused by the jittery blond.

“Mommy? Are we going yet?”

Naruto removed his hand when he heard the little voice. A small child wearing a flower patterned dark yukata appeared beside the woman, tugging on her with her pudgy fingers. At that moment, Naruto realized where she’d seen this woman. That day in his apartment after he’d come back from Sasuke’s place, he turned on the news and saw Sasuke get out of a vehicle along with a woman and her child. He remembered now. That woman and child was them! This woman was Sasuke’s wife and that child was his daughter, Sarada.

“… on the right. If you take the other elevator you’ll end up in the girl’s hot spring so make sure you pay attention to the signs.”

Naruto blinked, his thoughts cleared from his head as he realized the woman was speaking to him. He didn’t want to make her think he wasn’t listening. She didn’t look like the type of woman that would want to repeat herself.

“Thank you,” he gave a short bow. “Sorry to take up so much of your time.”

“It’s alright. Come now Sarada,” the woman stroked her fingers through her child’s hair and Sarada smiled up at her and nodded as they walked off. They disappeared in a room down the hall.

Having not heard much of what the woman said, Naruto decided to head back to the girl’s room since he didn’t know the way to his own room that he’d be sharing with the guys yet. He made his way back with the help of two other residents nearly twenty minutes later.

The room was empty. Everyone must have gone down to the springs. He sighed and sat down alone in the room. He crawled over to where he left his bag and pulled out his cellphone. No new notifications. He clicked through to his messages and saw within the most recent ones there was his conversation with the number he still hadn’t saved on his phone. Sasuke.

He clicked on the number and held the phone up to his ear as it rung.

He wondered if he was here with his family. His wife. His daughter.

As the phone hit the third ring, Naruto realized he had no idea why he was calling.

“Hello,” Sasuke’s voice came through and Naruto bit his lip. He wanted to mention his wife and his daughter and how he’d just seen them. He wanted to tell him to fuck off because they’re beautiful and there was no reason to potentially throw that away by sleeping around with other men. He wanted to ask if he was lying about his wife knowing. He wanted to ask why he couldn’t stop thinking about him and if Sasuke felt the same way. “Naruto?”

“I thought you weren’t gonna save my number.”

Sasuke let out a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle. “I didn’t.”

“Oh,” Naruto said smoothly, lying back and staring up at the decorative ceiling. “So, you memorized it?”

When Sasuke made another chuckle-like sound, it made Naruto smile. “Idiot. You’re the only person who calls me just to play mute.”

Naruto couldn’t help but laugh at the insult. “Asshole.”

The line went silent after that. Naruto could faintly hear the sound of typing on Sasuke’s end.

“You’re at work?”

“Hn,” Sasuke replied, and he could hear more typing.

“Are you alone?” Naruto asked and the typing stopped.

“I am.”

Naruto didn’t know where he was going with this. But, the sound of Sasuke’s voice was driving him crazy.

More silence passed before Sasuke spoke again, “Why did you call, Naruto?” Jesus, why was he so easily turned on? 

Naruto closed his eyes. The way Sasuke said his name made his nerves tingle and his stomach flip. “I was thinking about you.” He said honestly.

“Oh?” Sasuke sounded genuinely surprised by the straightforward response.

“Yeah.”

“What were you thinking about?” Sasuke asked calmly. Naruto could hear him resume his typing.

“How much of a jerk you are.” Naruto hadn’t realized he was breathing harder. He reached a hand down to the belt of his yukata and massaged the hard on that was beginning to show.

“Really?” Sasuke asked curiously.

“Mhm,” Naruto nodded and closed his eyes.

And then Sasuke said in the most unaffected tone, “So, you're not imaging me touching you?” and Naruto’s eyes rolled back behind his closed lids.

“No,” he responded, trying to rid of the desire in his voice. “I wasn’t.”

“Hn,” more typing could be heard. “I am.”

Naruto inhaled sharply, “Am what?”

“What do you think, moron?”

Naruto opened his eyes to glare at the phone, knowing that Sasuke couldn't see it. 

“Are you alone, Naruto?” Sasuke asked and Naruto nodded to himself.

“Yeah…” he breathed out.

“Then right now, you’re hard and touching yourself?” He said it as if he was analyzing another species. Naruto looked down at where his had was rubbing over the lump in his yukata.

Naruto lied, “I’m not.”

“Hn, okay.” Sasuke said, and Naruto could imagine him shrugging as if he didn’t care. “But, I think you’re lying to me.”

Naruto continued to stroke himself through the fabric of his yukata. “About what?” He asked in a distant voice.

“About not touching yourself.” He paused and Naruto could still hear him typing. “And about what you’re thinking about right now while you’re touching yourself.”

Naruto smiled, lost in the moment, he said, “What am I thinking about, then?”

Sasuke chuckled, a real chuckle this time, but responded with, “Sorry Naruto, I’ve got another call I have to take.”

Naruto’s eyes shot open. It was as if the spell Sasuke had cast on him had been broken and he realized where he was for the first time. “Wait…” Naruto said quickly, his face flushed.

“We’ll have to continue this another time. Until then.” And the line went dead.

Naruto pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it. He groaned and tossed the phone aside when he saw that the call was disconnected. He put both hands on his face and groaned. He’d just spoke to Sasuke’s wife who’s staying in the same building as him and here he is trying to have phone sex with her husband.

“What the hell am I doing?”

 

* * *

 

That night they all decided to check out the nightlife in Kyushu. Come midnight it would be Naruto’s birthday, so what better way to reign in the start of his twenty-first year than to get plastered at some club in an unfamiliar city?

They agreed to meet in front of the onsen at 10:00. Naruto and the guys were ready and waiting by 9:50. While his friends were dressed in slacks and button ups, the traditional “straight guy going out” outfit, Naruto wore his tight, black pants and orange tank top which had long openings for his arms, showing off a hint of abdominal muscle along with his toned biceps.

As they waited outside the buildings for the ladies, they spent their time talking about the new Ninja Tournament game that just came out. Naruto did his best to focus on their conversation and not on Sasuke’s stupid face that seemed to pop into his mind whenever anything related to their time together popped up. Which was hard because now that list included: ramen, video games and sleep.

When Sakura, Hinata and Ino showed up at 10:10, Naruto couldn’t help but whistle in appreciation at their appearance. Sakura chose a simple short, pink dress that made it impossible not to be drawn to her long, supple legs. Hinata wore tight jeans and a low cut blouse that showed off a lot more cleavage than Naruto was accustomed to seeing on the shy girl. And Ino wore a similar dress to Sakura’s, though hers was pale blue and had spaghetti straps.

Sakura walked up to Naruto with a snarl directed at his wolfish grin and smacked his forehead hard, effectively wiping the look off his face.

“Ow!” He cried out, hunched over in pain, “Why!”

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms, “Because you were looking like a creepy pervert.”

Naruto pouted, “Sue me for trying to encourage your good looks.”

Sakura rolled her eyes as he rubbed the sore spot on his head, grumbling about women being too hard to please.

After recovering from the blow Naruto looked to Shikamaru in favor of ignoring Sakura after her unnecessary attack, and asked, “Where are we heading anyway?”

Shikamaru shrugged, something Naruto had expected he’d do, and pulled out his phone to call a taxi. “Not sure. There’s a lot going on closer to the city. We were thinking of just finding somewhere gay for you to go.”

Naruto snorted out a short laugh at his choice of words. “Somewhere gay?” He questioned with an arched brow.

Shikamaru shrugged and gave him a look that said, _“What do you want from me?”_ And Naruto laughed again, turning away with his hands raised in defeat.

True to his word, after the taxi dropped them off, they found their way to a bar and club named Shuriken that definitely fell into the category of "Somewhere gay". They paid the fee to enter and the group danced their way through the club, straight to the dance floor. Save for Shikamaru, Chouji and Hinata, who walked in behind them and made their way to the bar.

Naruto and Sakura shook their hips at each other, bobbing their heads to the American pop blaring over the heavy audio system. Ino and Lee were dancing beside them, but not together.

Sakura grabbed onto Naruto’s hands and they held them in the air, waving them around together as they bounced along to a voice that may have been Avril Lavigne or Pink. He could never tell the difference when it came to music he couldn’t understand.

In the midst of their dancing, Sakura’s eyes spotted something behind Naruto, so she smiled and suddenly let go. Naruto, confused as to why he’d suddenly been abandoned, simply continued to dance as he watched Sakura switch over to dancing with Lee and Ino.

After a moment, Sakura looked back over and Naruto tilted his head to the side, silently asking, _“Why’d you leave?”_

Sakura made a strange motion with her eyes, then nodded up, which Naruto interpreted to mean, _“Behind you.”_

Naruto danced around, doing a 180 turn to see what Sakura was on about. As he did, his eyes almost immediately met a deep pair of green ones. They belonged to a taller man with neat red hair, pale skin and a tattoo (which Naruto couldn’t make out if it was permanent or not) of the kanji for "love" on the corner of his forehead. He was wearing a dark red button up and black pants. Aside from the fact that it looked like he didn’t have eyebrows, Naruto could admit the man was a definite ten on the scale of attraction.

But, Naruto wasn’t expecting to see someone there looking at him so hungrily, so the best he could do was give the stranger an awkward smile and say, “Hey.” Even though the music was so loud, Naruto doubted he heard him.

The redhead took a step closer and leaned forward; placing his lips next to Naruto’s ear before speaking, “Would you like a drink?”

Naruto couldn’t help but feel flushed when the heat of the man’s breath tickled his ear. When he leaned back again, Naruto gave him a hesitant nod before following him over to the bar. 

As he went over with this stranger, he turned back to give Sakura a look and she returned it with a large smile and thumbs up.

He shook his head and looked back just before they reached the bar. He noted that Hinata, Chouji and Shikamaru were hanging around on the opposite side and hadn’t seemed to notice him and his new companion. 

The redhead motioned for Naruto to take the one open seat at the bar, while he stood and leaned against it.

At the bar the music wasn’t so overpowering so the man was finally able to greet him comfortably, “I’m Gaara.” His voice was deep and a little bit raspy, Naruto appreciated being able to hear it clearly.

Naruto smiled, still feeling uncharacteristically shy, “Naruto.”

Gaara smirked; an action that Naruto hated to admit made him think of a certain dark haired, bastardly someone who he couldn’t get out of his mind. He watched as the redhead leaned over the bar to order two cocktails from the dancing bartender. When the bartender nodded at the orders and went away, Gaara’s eyes went back over to take in Naruto’s appearance.

“So,” Naruto started, feeling like if he didn’t say something then, things would become uncomfortable, “I’m guessing you don’t dance?” He noticed that instead of offering a dance, Gaara offered a drink. And looking at the redhead, it was hard to imagine him shaking around on the dance floor.

Gaara chuckled and shook his head, “No, I don’t. But I saw you out there and wanted to make sure I had the chance to talk to you.” Again Gaara’s eyes slid over Naruto’s body, and the heat of his gaze was enough to make Naruto squirm.

“Oh yeah?” was the best Naruto could come up with after that.

The bartender placed the two cocktails in front of them. As Naruto looked down at it, he had to remember not to drink too fast so to not repeat whatever had went down with Sasuke the other day.

 _“_ _Apparently you have a ten-year-old’s tolerance for alcohol.”_

Dammit, there that bastard goes again, infesting his thoughts.

Naruto picked up the drink, choosing to push all images of Sasuke aside in favor of examining the colorful liquid. It was some sort of whiskey blend that they claimed was an exclusive Shuriken Club recipe.

He took a small sip, noting that it was simply a whiskey sour with cinnamon extract and therefore not that impressive, and then let his eyes meet Gaara’s once again. He was just watching Naruto, probably trying to figure out how hard it would be to get in bed with him.

Naruto decided to say the first thing that came to mind then, “It’s my birthday.”

Gaara made a face at this, and Naruto knew if he had eyebrows it would be the equivalent to an arched brow.

“Well,” Naruto rolled his eyes and bounced in his seat, something he knew he only did in situations filled with awkward tension. “Not today, but in a few minutes it will be.” He peaked at the clock hanging above the bar. It told him it was 11:46.

Gaara closed his eyes and smiled. It gave Naruto another reminder of how handsome this man was. He raised his glass to signify a toast, “I’m glad I’ll be able to celebrate with you.”

Naruto raised his own glass and smiled, “Yeah…” As they both took a sip, a voice chimed in, drawing both of their eyes away from each other. 

“Gaara?” The pair turned to look at Hinata, whose soft voice was barely heard over the crowd. Even though she’d been sitting at the bar this whole time, it seems as if she’d just noticed their presence. She stood beside Naruto facing Gaara with a kind smile.

Gaara returned the look and nodded at her in his own way of greeting.

Naruto was left completely lost.

“Wait…” They looked at him as he alternated his look between the two of them. “You know each other?” It wasn’t the most farfetched idea, but they were hundreds of miles away from home so it was also a pretty strange coincidence.

Hinata nodded happily before she explained, “Yeah, we’re in the same year at Suna. We have a couple classes together too.” She looked at Naruto and gestured towards Gaara as she went on, “He’s Temari’s brother. I figured you knew that.” Temari was Shikamaru’s girlfriend who almost never wanted to hang out with them. How the hell was Naruto supposed to know she had a sibling?

Naruto’s mouth hung open for a moment as he took in the information. He looked from Hinata to Gaara, “Wait, if you live in Ginza, then what are you doing in Kyushu?”

Hinata looked over to Gaara expectantly, likely wondering the same thing.

Gaara took a sip of his drink before he explained, “I’m here for a job interview, actually.”

Hinata’s eyes brightened at the news, “That’s incredible Gaara, I didn’t realize you were working so hard.”

Gaara nodded then let his eyes land on the squirming blond whom had caught his interest since the moment he entered the club. That same predatory look glimmered in his dull green eyes as he spoke, “Well knowing there is so much potential in Tokyo, I might have to reconsider.”

Naruto gulped, understanding his use of the word “potential” all too well.

Hinata realized the situation after that, and that she was likely interrupting whatever was happening between them. So, she smiled and turned to Gaara, “Well, it was nice seeing you. Good luck with your job interview.”

Naruto realized she was about to walk away after that so he instinctively grabbed onto her blouse with his index finger and thumb. She looked at him and he smiled, feeling a little embarrassed since Gaara had noticed the action as well.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when Sakura called towards them.

“Guys!” She was so loud that even Chouji and Shikamaru heard her on the other side of the bar. She drew the group’s attention, as well as some other patrons who were just being nosy. “It’s almost time,” she said a bit quieter since most of them had gotten close enough in the process of regrouping. Somehow the group consisted of Gaara as well, whether the redhead wanted it or not.

Shikamaru's eye met Gaara's so he nodded at him, but didn't say anything and Gaara did the same. 

The rest of Naruto’s friends created a circle around them. Ino pushed between Naruto and Gaara and ordered a round of shots for everyone. Naruto took note that she had included Gaara in her count, and was suddenly under the suspicion that they had the intention of setting him up.

Gaara’s eyes were focused on Naruto the entire time, and Naruto wasn’t sure why he felt so uncomfortable with it. He was definitely attractive, and if Naruto were being honest, he was exactly his type. Even so, Naruto didn't want to admit that he may have been feeling apprehensive about the whole thing because of whatever was going on between him and Sasuke. But, that would most certainly be ridiculous, because in reality nothing would come out of being infatuated with a married man. 

Regardless of Naruto’s inner debate, he couldn't deny that there was something holding him back when it came to Gaara. Something was making him reluctant to accept Gaara's clear advances.

As he continued squirming, Gaara didn’t let up. And when Naruto peaked up at him, he could swear he saw a hint of mirth in his eyes.

“To Naruto!” Ino announced as she and Shikamaru passed everyone their shots. Naruto accepted his with a smile, and then held his up with everyone else.

“To Naruto!” The others cheered then they all downed their drinks.

Naruto’s face scrunched after swallowing the last of the liquid. He already felt like if he had any more to drink he’d be done for the night. His face felt hot, and he could only imagine how red his cheeks had gotten.

Gaara was still looking at him, even as the rest of his friends spread out again; some going back to the dance floor, while some resumed their seats at the bar to continue drinking or talking.

Naruto finally voiced what he’d been wanting to say for a while, “What are you looking at?” It wasn’t meant to be as snappish as it sounded. Gaara didn’t seem affected by the tone.

He shrugged, “You’re pretty cute, Naruto.”

Naruto couldn’t help but laugh at this. Not only did it feel a bit ridiculous to be called cute so openly by another man (gay or not) but also, Gaara just didn’t seem like the type to throw those types of words around.

“Really?” Naruto said, sounding like he didn’t believe him.

Gaara simply shrugged again and took a sip of the cocktail he’d been working on before the sudden interruption. He sat the half empty drink down after that and straightened up. “I should go.”

“So soon?” Naruto didn’t mean to say that out loud. It just sort of slipped out.

Gaara was just as surprised to hear him say this as Naruto had been. Naruto wasn’t exactly giving him any signs that he had been enjoying his company. So, while Naruto looked down and blushed at his slip up, Gaara smirked and leaned forward.

When Naruto felt a cold pair of lips touch his cheek, his head shot up to look at Gaara who’d already pulled back.

“Give me your phone.” Gaara commanded, and Naruto did, too affected by the alcohol to argue about being bossed around by this stranger.

He watched as Gaara’s thumbs tapped against his phone for all of a minute before it was handed back to him. He looked at the new contact information that had been implanted, and then up at Gaara again who was already walking away.

“Let’s meet again in Tokyo,” was all he said before he became lost in the cluster of dancing bodies.

 

* * *

 

That night ended well, even though Naruto had to be carried back to the onsen on Shikamaru’s back because his body had given into the small amount of alcohol he’d consumed. When he woke up the next morning Shikamaru complained about it for what seemed like forever. But, Naruto couldn’t blame him. He was exceptionally lazy most times, so Naruto could imagine having to carry your heavy, drooling, passed out friend into a taxi and later through the onsen was not on his wish list.

After that the next few days of the trip went by smoothly. Naruto could admit he was definitely glad he took some time to relax with his friends. The rest of the trip was spent drinking and sharing old stories, all strategically avoiding any that involved Neji and Kiba, which Naruto was grateful for. After that they were heading back to Tokyo feeling drained, but content. Naruto had successfully managed to get Sasuke and his family out of his mind and didn’t mention to anyone what had happened over the phone, because who knows what Sakura would've made of that.

Once they landed in Tokyo, Minato met Naruto at the airport to drive him and Sakura back into the city. They waved everyone off as they went their separate ways.

“How was the trip?” Minato asked once they were inside the car.

“Soooo relaxing,” Sakura said dreamily. Naruto chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, the place was huge. I kept getting lost.”

Minato laughed at this, “I’m not surprised, son.”

Sakura rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I don’t know why you didn’t just read the signs, Naruto.”

Naruto’s mouth hung open, “Hey! It was confusing!”

Sakura scoffed, “Confusing for an idiot.”

Minato laughed again and Naruto turned to his father and glared. “You’re laughing at your son being called an idiot?”

Minato shook his head. “Oh no, you’re right. Sakura, don’t call my son an idiot,” he said, but was still laughing through his words.

Naruto pouted in response and Sakura laughed.

They continued their car ride with similar banter until they made it back into the city. Minato dropped Sakura off first, then Naruto,

“Thanks dad,” Naruto said as he retrieved his bag from the trunk of the car. Minato was standing outside with him. He had a small box in his hand. Naruto paused after closing the trunk to look at it. Minato scratched the back of his head shyly.

“Uh, I’ve been holding onto this for a while and I thought maybe you’d want it.” He handed the box over and Naruto slowly accepted it.

He looked to his father again and then at the box. He opened it and gasped when he saw what was inside. It was a skinny, dark blue bangle. Looking at it made Naruto remember the moments when his mother would push her hair behind her ear or reach out to hold his hand. He covered his mouth as he looked at it and then at his father again.

“This is?”

Minato nodded. He let out a heavy sigh, “Yeah, it’s your mother’s,” he let out a sad chuckle. “I’ve spent way too much time staring at it.”

Naruto chuckled with him. He felt his eyes watering up, but he didn’t want to cry. They’d both cried far too much. It was time to be strong for her. Naruto nodded firmly, suddenly feeling encouraged.

“Thanks dad.” He said again, this time with a myriad of emotions filling up inside of him.

Minato walked up to him and put an arm around his shoulders. He pulled Naruto closer and kissed his forehead. “I love you, son.”

Naruto nodded and grinned when they separated. Minato waved before he got into his car and drove off. Naruto watched him go, then bent down to grab his bag and head inside.

Once he was off the elevator on his floor, he walked towards his apartment with his head down and his eyes focused on the blue bangle.

He looked up just before he reached his door and stopped at the sight of Kiba standing there. Naruto frowned at his ex-friend. “Kiba,” Naruto shook his head. “I really am not in the mood for this.”

“I just want to talk, Naruto.”

“I know,” Naruto took the last few steps towards his door. “The thing is,” he unlocked the door and looked back to Kiba. “I don’t have anything to talk about.”

“Naruto…” Kiba pleaded.

Naruto cut him off, “Why are you here, Kiba?”

Kiba thought about that for amount before he answered. “Well, I knew you were on that trip with the others and Sakura had just gotten back so I wanted to stop by.”

“Well, you wasted your time.” Naruto walked into his apartment and placed the bangle onto his kitchen counter.

“Naruto, there are some things I wanted to talk to you about....” Kiba followed him in.

“Look Kiba, I know you’re sorry.” He walked over to the couch and sat his bag down on it. “I know that you ‘ _didn’t mean to hurt me’_. I know that if you could ‘ _take it all back and do it different’_ you would.” Naruto turned to look at Kiba. “I know that you’re hurt because we’re not friends and that you miss me.” Naruto pulled off his coat and threw it by his bag. “And I know that you’d like to try and be friends again.”

He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and walked over to his balcony. He opened the glass doors and stepped outside.

As he lit his cigarette Kiba stepped outside to join him.

“You’re right.” Kiba said after a moment of silence and Naruto scoffed at his words. “But, what you don’t know, Naruto, is that I’m not going to give up.”

Naruto let out an arrogant laugh, “Well, you should.” He inhaled his cigarette.

“I’m not.” Kiba said, defiantly. “Naruto, I know I fucked up.” Kiba thought about that for a moment, and then corrected, “ _We_ fucked up. But, you were my first friend, ever. We hung out in diapers Naruto. You know everything about me.”

“I thought I did,” Naruto grumbled.

“You do!”

“So why couldn’t you just tell me?” Naruto snapped. He scrubbed out the cigarette and tossed it over the balcony. “Why couldn’t either of you just tell me what was going on?”

“Are you kidding? Your mom was sick Naruto!”

“No!” Naruto’s eyes were getting red. “My mom was DYING and you both knew that! I know that wasn’t the first time, Kiba. You guys had plenty of time to tell me. Fuck.." Naruto stopped himself. He was getting too worked up. "I can’t do this,” he shook his head and walked back inside.

“Naruto, wait!” Kiba followed him.

Naruto whipped around and glared at him. He tried to sound calm as he spoke, “Look. Whatever you thought you could accomplish by coming here, just give up on it.”

“I won’t!”

Naruto’s temper shot up, “Kiba!”

“No Naruto! NO! I won’t man,” Kiba scratched his head, feeling frustrated. “I don’t care, I’m not gonna let go of our friendship. I know, you haven’t.” This took Naruto back.

“What are you talking about?”

“Naruto, if you were really done. If you were totally over me, you wouldn’t even be speaking to me right now. Naruto, I know you.”

Naruto shook his head, “I don’t see what you’re getting at.”

Kiba sighed. “What I’m saying is that it doesn’t have to be this way, and you know it.”

Naruto didn’t respond to this. Instead he glared at a blank spot on the wall.

“Look, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. It has to do with Neji, but...” Kiba sighed. “I’m starting to realize it’s not my place. But, if you ever want to hear me out, I’m here.” Again Naruto remained silent. He could hear Kiba walking toward the door, then stop and look back. “When’d you start smoking?”

Naruto looked back at Kiba. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Naruto shrugged.

Kiba nodded, knowing what that meant and chose not to comment. “Well,” Kiba spoke, “See you.”

The door was shut behind him. Naruto was left alone in his cold apartment. The October night air was hitting him hard from the balcony doors, which were forgotten open. Naruto walked over to them and shut them.

He was feeling unsteady. If he was being honest with himself, he missed both Kiba and Neji. They were once among the most important people in his life. But he couldn't just forget about what they did. If they expected him to just drop it and go back to being  _normal friends_ , then they were both out of their minds. 

He went over to his bag and sifted out his phone.

For some reason, he called Sasuke’s unsaved number again without thinking about it.

It rang two times before the line connected.

“Hello.”

“Where are you?” Naruto asked, getting straight to the point.

“Leaving my office.”

“I want to see you.”

 

* * *

 

It was dark by the time he got to the building where Sasuke lived. He was sitting outside smoking a cigarette when Sasuke pulled up front. When Sasuke got out of the vehicle his eyes landed on Naruto almost immediately. Sasuke walked over to the doorman and handed him his keys. Then, he approached Naruto who was still sucking on his half smoked cigarette.

“Hey,” Naruto said as he looked up at him. He flicked his cigarette onto the ground and got up from his crouched position.

“Hn,” Sasuke responded and led them inside.

They rode the elevator up in silence. Sasuke lead the way to his condo without asking any questions. After they got inside, Sasuke locked the door and as soon as he turned around Naruto was standing there.

Naruto reached a tanned hand up and placed it on the back of Sasuke’s neck, pulling him down for a kiss. Sasuke didn’t resist, leaning into the kiss, but allowing Naruto to take the lead.

Suddenly, Naruto pulled away. His eyes were shut tight. When he slowly opened them, he was met with Sasuke’s intense gaze.

Neither of them made a move.

Naruto looked away a moment later, feeling awkward. He finally spoke, “When I called you, I was in Kyushu.”

Sasuke tilted his head, unsure of where this was going.

As he waited for Naruto to fully explain himself, Sasuke walked away towards the kitchen. Naruto followed him and took a seat at the bar. Sasuke poured them both a glass of wine. When Sasuke handed him one, Naruto nodded and accepted it.

Sasuke stood on the opposite side of the bar and motioned for Naruto to continue.

“I was at an onsen with my friends celebrating my birthday.” Naruto stared into the dark red wine in his glass. He took a small sip before he spoke again, “When I was there I ran into your wife… and your daughter.”

Sasuke nodded, but didn’t say a word.

“I remember thinking, wow they’re so beautiful. _She’s_ so beautiful.” Naruto took another sip. “And then I called you…” he sighed and placed a hand over his eyes. “I don’t even know why.”

He sat like that for a moment, listening to the sound of Sasuke moving around him. When he removed his hand Sasuke was standing over him. Without saying another word Sasuke kissed him. It was deep and passionate. Naruto felt like he was floating. Sasuke coaxed his lips apart and teased the inside of Naruto’s mouth with his tongue. Without thinking, Naruto spread his legs apart, giving Sasuke the opportunity to slip in between them. Sasuke grabbed both of Naruto’s thighs with his strong hands and pulled Naruto in until he couldn’t get any closer.

Naruto gasped when he felt what was between Sasuke’s legs. Sasuke wasn’t shy, and made sure Naruto knew his intentions by grinding his hips into Naruto’s. The friction caused Naruto to break the kiss, instead letting out a low moan. Sasuke reached into the front of Naruto’s shirt and ran a hand up his chest while taking to Naruto’s neck with small bites, licks and kisses. Naruto wrapped his legs around Sasuke’s hips to steady his position on the edge of the stool. He threw his head back, bit his lip and let out another moan when Sasuke’s bit down extra hard on a tender spot on his neck.

He could feel himself becoming increasingly hard as they moved their bodies together. His pants were soon painfully tight. He wanted Sasuke to touch him more. He wanted him to…

“Excuse me, Uchiha-sama.”

“JESUS FUCKING!” Naruto shouted, pushed Sasuke away and jumped from the stool looking like a disheveled mess. Standing in the kitchen behind them was Sai dressed in his usual suit. “Christ…” Naruto breathed out the last of his outburst as recognition washed over him.

Sasuke glared at Sai and ran a hand through his hair. “How long have you been there?”

Sai smiled kindly, “Not very long. I came to prepare supper.” He raised the paper bag of groceries from a mart Naruto had never heard of.

Naruto spoke up, “I should go.”

“No,” Sasuke looked to him. “Stay,” he looked back at Sai. “You go.”

“Very well.” Sai nodded.

“No, that’s not cool.” Naruto argued, gesturing towards Sai but looking at Sasuke, “He went through all the trouble to come here with food to cook, right?” He looked back at Sai then again at Sasuke.

Sasuke then turned his glare to Naruto.

Naruto backed away, “It's fine, I shouldn’t have come here anyway.”

Sasuke didn’t have anything to say to this. His glare faded and now he was just staring at Naruto impassively. 

Naruto realized that a part of him wanted Sasuke to put his foot down, and insist that he stayed. He thought maybe if he did, he would forgo good judgment and do just that.

But, Sasuke didn’t. Instead, he just watched as Naruto stood there awkwardly... expectantly. Naruto wasn’t even sure what he was waiting for.

Then, after the moment passed Sasuke shrugged, “Whatever.” He didn’t see the way Naruto’s eyes widened at his carefree response because he was already walking away towards the couch.

Naruto watched him as he went. And when Sasuke flicked on the television and immersed himself with some American news program, Naruto deflated.

What was he expecting? Some sort of reassurance? For what? 

With his shoulders sagged Naruto smiled at Sai, as politely as he could in his dejected state, then made his way to the door.

He left without saying another word to Sasuke. As he stood outside the door to the condo, he leaned against it and fisted at his shirt. His chest hurt. It felt like someone had his heart in a death grip, squeezing it to manually pump his blood but also making it hard to breathe.

“Fuck.” Naruto cursed at himself or maybe more so at this feeling that seemed irrational to him.

He placed his free hand on his forehead and sighed before running it up and through his hair.

His heart wouldn’t settle down. He didn’t want to think about what that meant. Not for a bastard like Sasuke. He refused to dwell on this feeling.

After a moment to snap out of his sudden funk, Naruto pushed off the door. He didn’t want to be stuck in this building longer than what was necessary.

As he made his way to the elevator he felt something buzz in his pocket. Stopping in front of the doors he fished out his phone and held it up. Expecting a message from Sakura or Ino, he was surprised to find a message from the newest addition to his contact list.

**Gaara: What are you doing next Friday?**

Naruto stared at the message. Sending a quick look back in the direction of Sasuke’s place, he bit his lip, then looked back at his phone and responded.

**I’m free.**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! 
> 
> New Saturday, New chapter! Thank you for taking the time to read this story so far. I hope you're all excited to see what will happen next. I know I'm excited to see how you'll all react to this update. 
> 
> Like always, expect the next chapter to be out by next Saturday. Until then~


	7. Idiot

A few days later it was 6am on Friday and Naruto was leaving work.

After work he had planned to meet with Gaara in the city. Since he usually slept after work until his evening class on Fridays, it seemed best to meet directly after work before the full wave of exhaustion hit him.

Gaara had texted him that he was on his way into the city and that he wanted to meet at The Coffee Shop.

Standing outside of Club Locust, Naruto stared down at the message on his phone while a cigarette idly burned in his mouth.

Thinking about it now, Naruto realized he hadn’t been to that coffee spot since he’d initially met Sasuke. And again he cursed, because there was yet another thing that reminded him of the bastard. 

A part of him wanted to suggest a different location, but there weren’t many places he could think of that were close by. If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit that the idea of running into Sasuke was a bit thrilling. But, as he stood there reading over the message, he couldn’t bring himself to.

After a moment of debating whether he should decline or not, he gave up on his mental debate with a sigh. So, without further ado, he slipped his phone into his back pocket and made his way to their meeting point. 

 

* * *

  

When Naruto entered the coffee shop he immediately felt relaxed. Each time he came here the pleasant smell always put a warm smile on his face.

“Hey, Naruto!” TenTen waved to him from behind the counter. To his surprise, there weren’t many customers around this morning, so he was able to happily approach the counter to greet his friend.

“Hey Ten, what’s up?”

“Nothing much,” she smiled and went over to make a hot mocha for the grumpy looking old man who had ordered before him. She continued, “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Naruto nodded and leaned against the high counter as he usually did when he was here in the morning. He crossed his arms and rested his head between them.

When she was finished with the old man’s drink, she returned to her register and patted Naruto on the head, “You want the usual?”

Naruto yawned before speaking. “Yeah, but I want it in a mug.” His way of saying he wanted it “for here”. Hearing that surprised TenTen; Naruto almost never took his coffee to stay. If he did it was usually to talk to TenTen about something mundane, and even in those instances he never ordered a mug.

She tapped in his order and accepted his debit card when he’d handed it to her. As she completed the order, she asked, “You meeting someone?”

“Mhm, just some guy I met,” his cheeks heated up when he thought about it.

“Oh,” TenTen smiled big. “Like a date?”

Naruto’s face became even redder. Was this a date? Naruto hadn’t been able to clearly answer that question in the days leading up to this. He shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe,” was the best he could come up with.

She sent him one more smile before she walked away to make his drink. As he waited, he drummed his fingers against the counter.

A minute later she returned with a steaming mug. She placed it on a small plate before setting it on the counter in front of him. “Well,” She continued as if they’d never stopped talking. “Whatever it ends up being, good luck.”

Naruto smiled and accepted his drink. “Thanks Ten,” he took a small sip of his macchiato and licked his lips. It was just as delicious as always. He raised his mug to her, and then moved aside to let the woman behind him get her order taken. He walked to the back of the shop and took a seat at one of the small round tables.

As he blew and sipped at his coffee, he hadn’t seen Gaara enter, or when he’d given his order. It wasn’t until the tough scent of black coffee hit him and a steaming mug was placed in his line of vision. He looked up to meet Gaara’s gaze. 

It was the first time Naruto had seen him since their first meeting in Kyushu. Now that they were in the light, Naruto had no doubts that this man was just as handsome as he’d remembered. His hair was incredibly red, while aside from the tattoo (which Naruto was now sure was permanent) he had no marks or blemishes on his skin. He was tall, and well built, and stood confidently with a smile Naruto thought was breathtaking.

“Hello, Naruto,” Gaara spoke, and Naruto was once again amazed by how raspy and deep his voice was.

Naruto cleared his throat and straightened his back before returning the greeting, “Hey.” He nodded and motioned for Gaara to take the seat across from him; so he did.

“You look good,” Gaara said and took a sip of his coffee, openly admiring Naruto who was wearing his tight, black, Club Locust T-shirt and faded blue skinny jeans.

“Thanks,” Naruto managed to say, and attempted to give Gaara a grin that was supposed to be less awkward and more confident. Although he was afraid it lacked the latter. “So,” he began, fidgeting in his seat as he reached for something to say. “Why’d you want to come here anyway?”

Gaara nodded at the question while he consumed more of his bitter drink, then placed the mug down before answering, “I accepted a job in this building that I’d interviewed for not too long ago. I heard the coffee here was good, so I wanted to check it out.”

Naruto’s eyes grew wide, for reasons Gaara had misinterpreted, “You did?” Naruto choked out the words, and Gaara gave him a proud nod.

He went on,“I got the job offer before I met you in Kyushu. I was on the fence about taking it, but…” Gaara paused, eyeing Naruto as he contemplated his next words. “I suppose you could say I had a change of heart.”

While Gaara was speaking, Naruto’s mind was reeling. There was only one thing on his mind that Naruto kept asking himself. 

Could he have gotten a job with Sasuke’s company, Mangekyou? That would be too much of a sick coincidence wouldn’t it be?

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but decided he didn’t know what to say, so he took another sip of his macchiato instead.

“You seem shocked,” Gaara pointed out, and Naruto realized he probably didn’t have the best poker face.

“Yeah, I am,” Naruto spoke honestly. He looked Gaara in the eyes as he decided to reveal the source of his anxiety, “You wouldn’t happen to be working for a company called Mangekyou Energy… would you?”

Gaara’s eyes narrowed at the faintly recognizable name before he shook his head, “No actually, I’m working for a company called Kazekage Industries. They manufacture air conditioners.” Naruto’s tense shoulders visibly relaxed at the information. He nodded and drank the last of his macchiato. “Why do you ask?” Gaara inquired as Naruto finished his drink. Naruto peeked at him over the rim of his mug. His face was heating up again.

Naruto sat the empty mug aside, and cleared his throat once again, “No reason really.” He didn’t think that sounded too believable, so he continued, “I just know the CEO there and he’s a real prick.” He shrugged after that, trying to seem nonchalant. “I didn’t want you to work under someone like that.” Naruto felt that what he said was mostly true, so he didn’t feel bad about his excuse.  

Gaara simply nodded at the information as he took another sip.

Naruto leaned back in his chair. Now that there was no drink to distract him, he put both his hands behind his head to try and relax a bit. The awkward air around them was dissipating, which was good, but he still felt a little weird about this whole thing. If he were being honest, Naruto wasn’t much for “dating”. Neji had been his one and only boyfriend, and Sasuke was… well that was still unclear. Either way, attempting to enter a normal relationship again felt very strange.

After a moment, Gaara finally spoke again, “I wouldn’t have expected that.”

“Expected what?” Naruto asked as he dangerously leaned further back, letting his chair support his weight on its two back legs.  

“You knowing such a powerful executive.”

Naruto shrugged, feeling a bit more carefree, “Yeah, well I met him by chance. We had…” he paused, hating the heat that, once again, found its way to his cheeks as he thought about what he was about to blurt out.

Gaara seemed to understand the reason behind Naruto’s hesitation. So instead of pressing forward, he nodded knowingly. “I see,” he confirmed, and Naruto let his chair fall back on its four legs.

Naruto leaned over the table as he tried to explain himself, “It wasn’t anything serious, and we just met a few times. Like I said, he’s a prick.” He had no idea why he felt the need to explain himself, but the words came out before he had the chance to grab them and pull them back. Gaara just nodded quietly at Naruto as he sipped at his coffee.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair after his short outburst, hoping that he didn’t seem like as big of a spaz as he’d felt.

“It’s alright,” Gaara said, apparently having the power to read Naruto’s mind. “So you slept with him.”

“Just once.” Again, Naruto wasn’t sure why he felt the need to clarify. At the same time he was growing a bit frustrated. Why were they even talking about Sasuke? “Anyway!” Naruto leaned back again, feeling desperate to change the subject. “Did you meet Hinata through Temari?” 

Gaara chuckled fondly at the new line of questioning and shook his head, “No actually, I met her in one of my classes, but it turns out I went to middle school with her cousin.”

The color drained from Naruto’s face in an instant. How is it that he was having a conversation with a virtual stranger and yet the two banes of his existence managed to worm their way into their conversation one after the other?

“You don’t mean Neji, do you?” Naruto asked, hoping that Gaara was refering to some phantom-cousin Naruto had yet to meet. But, his hope was easily crushed when his question was answered with a short, but hesitant nod. 

Naruto didn’t have anything good to say at this, so he quietly looked away. Gaara noticed the change in demeanor and, again, sought out more information. “Another sensitive topic?” 

Naruto looked back at Gaara and let out a humorless laugh. He scratched his cheek with one finger as he thought about how he should answer. “Something like that. We actually used to go out. It didn’t end well.”

Gaara gave a slow nod to the new information. “So two bad exes.”

Naruto shook his head, feeling his face heat up again as he did so. “I never went out with Sasuke!” Shit, he said that too loud, and his face was getting even hotter at the sight of Gaara’s shocked expression. “Er… I mean,” Naruto tried his best to relax into his chair. He looked away; too embarrassed to look into Gaara’s eyes as he spoke again, “He was just some guy. We weren’t ever really together.” For some reason, having said that out loud made his chest feel uncomfortable. He decided to ignore the strange sensation.

Gaara let out another chuckle and it caused Naruto to look back at him. 

“What?”

Gaara shook his head, “You don’t have to worry. I don’t feel threatened.”

“That’s not—,” Naruto tried to argue, but Gaara held up a hand to stop him.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to explain anything.” Gaara gave him a small smile, and it took away a lot of Naruto’s anxiety. Naruto relaxed his tense shoulders and managed to smile back. “We should get going, I’m sure you’re tired.”

Hearing that elicited a long yawn from Naruto; he was suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the overnight shift. “You’re right,” he nodded. “I should get some rest.” 

They collected their mugs and brought them over to the counter where TenTen was there to grab them. She waved at the pair and winked at Naruto when Gaara turned first to leave. Naruto batted his hand at her, but smiled nonetheless before waving goodbye.

Once they were outside the coffee shop, Naruto froze when he heard a voice call out to them.

“Well, well, if isn’t the feisty little blond.” Naruto didn’t fully recognize the voice, but when he turned to see a silver-haired man dressed in a designer suit grinning at him, he immediately remembered where he’d heard it.

It was made even more painfully apparent when he saw that standing beside him looking as unbothered as ever was none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto looked from the pair to Gaara, who was quietly observing the two newcomers, then back at the pair.

“Hey,” Naruto said, unsure of how else he’d respond to such a greeting. When his blue eyes locked with Sasuke’s he felt his heart lightly pounding in his chest.

“Hn,” Sasuke nodded at Naruto. His dark eyes narrowed as they moved to examine Gaara for a moment. There was an unreadable look in his eyes, but he didn’t give Naruto much time to think about what it meant when in a second the look was gone.

Sasuke’s eyes drifted over to the man with silver hair, who Naruto understood to be his business partner. “We should go.” Sasuke said and then continued walking towards the elevators.

The silver-haired man, whose name was still a mystery to Naruto, trailed behind Sasuke while grinning at both Naruto and Gaara.

They watched them go. When they were finally out of sight, Naruto realized he was holding in a breath, and was forced to let it out when Gaara placed a firm hand on his shoulder. 

Naruto looked up at Gaara, who nodded towards the exit. Naruto chuckled, once again feeling like the air around them was a bit too dense to feel comfortable, “Sorry about that.” He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for, but he felt like he had to.

Gaara shrugged, then turned to lead them to the exit. As they walked, Gaara spoke up, “The one with the flashy hair, that was Sasuke?”

Naruto scoffed and shook his head, “No way. I don’t even really know him.”

“Hm,” Gaara nodded. “Then the other one?”

Naruto looked down at his feet then. “Uh, yeah that’s him.”

Gaara nodded again, “I see.”

Naruto turned and stopped in front of Gaara just before they’d reached the exit. “Look, whatever was happening between us wasn’t going anywhere. He’s married, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Gaara’s nonexistent eyebrow rose at this, “Married?”

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked away, “Yeah.” He felt a bit ashamed to admit he’d fooled around with a married man, more than once. And to think that most of those times he was aware of Sasuke’s marital status was even more shameful.

Gaara smiled down at Naruto, then boldly reached out and ran a hand through his blond hair.

Naruto looked up at Gaara when he did this and playfully batted the intrusive hand away.

“I already told you I don’t feel threatened.” Gaara said, letting his hand fall to his side. Something about his confidence gave Naruto a sense of relief.

“Yeah…” Naruto said again with a short nod. He let Gaara get around him, and followed him out of the building. Once they left, Gaara agreed to walk him home, and the whole time Naruto couldn’t help but remember the way Sasuke looked at Gaara, and wonder about what that meant.

 

* * *

  

A few days later Naruto was lounging on Sakura’s bed with his head in Ino’s lap, while Sakura sat at her desk typing up her biochemistry report. 

In the midst of her typing, Sakura couldn’t help but be distracted by the story Naruto was telling about his latest “date”.

“So, you’re gonna meet him again?” Sakura asked.

Naruto let out a soft sigh, relaxed by the feeling of Ino stroking her fingers through his hair. He tapped his fingers against his stomach as he thought about that question.

Gaara had said he wanted to meet again soon, but Naruto wasn’t sure if he should pursue something with this guy. He’d already managed to reveal more about his past “relationships” than he’d planned to the other day during their meeting at The Coffee Shop. Even if Gaara said it was okay, there was no way he didn’t feel some sort of way about what Naruto told him about his fling with Sasuke, right?

A part of Naruto knew he was just telling himself that.

Naruto held a hand over his eyes as he spoke, “I think I already screwed that up.”

“Naruto!” Ino growled and fisted his hair.

“Ow, ow! Why are you abusing my scalp?” Naruto whined in pain and glared through his fingers at Ino.

She continued, ignoring his discomfort and maintaining her tight grip on his hair, “How’d you manage that after one date?!”

Naruto pried Ino’s fingers out of his hair and sat up to answer, “I don’t know! I was acting weird the whole time. And then I told him about Sasuke…”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Sakura interjected, turning in her desk chair to glare at Naruto for his stupidity. 

Naruto shrugged and looked away, “I don’t know! Geez, I just did. And it didn’t help that we ran into him there…”

“Wait!” Sakura hopped from her seat and slid onto the bed to join them. “He was there?”

Naruto felt like he’d said more than he should have. He could feel his neck heating up, so he rubbed his hand over it to cover his red skin. “Y-yeah, he works in that building…” 

“WHAT!?” The two girls all but shouted in his face, forcing Naruto to lean back.

“Eh…” Naruto eyed them both, unsure of what to say. 

“Did you know he worked there?” Ino asked.

Then Sakura, “The Coffee Shop building? Where TenTen works?”

Then Ino, “Oh my God, you knew, didn’t you?”

Then Sakura, “I can’t believe he works there!” 

Then Ino, “Why would you take your date to a building where your ex works?!”

“Whoa! Whoa!” Naruto silenced the two girls, and they stared at him anxiously awaiting his explanation. He huffed, and looked between the two girls to assure that they were done. After a moment, he let out a calmer breath, before speaking, “First off, Sasuke is not my ex.” He ignored how hot his cheeks felt when he said this. “Second,” he continued, “I did know he worked there but it was Gaara’s idea to meet there.” He knew that was a weak excuse. But, they seemed to buy it. He looked to Sakura before speaking again, “And yeah the same shop that Ten works at. Gaara’s going to be working in the same building, so he wanted to check out the place…” 

Sakura and Ino both opened their mouths to speak, but he stopped them.

“And before you ask! No, he isn’t working for Sasuke’s company.”

The two girls sighed and relaxed their tense shoulders.

Exhausted, Naruto leaned his head against Sakura’s shoulder. She leaned her head against his and closed her eyes at the warmth. “So,” she spoke softly, “Did he get upset, or something?”

Naruto shook his head, causing his soft hair to rub against Sakura’s cheek. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Then why’re you so worried?” Ino asked and Naruto shrugged. He’d been wondering the same thing for the past few days.

Gaara was somewhat perfect in a lot of ways. He wasn’t deterred by Naruto’s reluctant behavior, or intimidated by the idea of there being some sort of competition. He was confident and handsome, and for some reason interested in Naruto. Even if his reasons were purely because of some physical attraction, it didn’t seem worth not giving it a try. It was almost as if Naruto was trying to give himself an excuse for why they wouldn’t work out.

“Naruto?” Ino’s voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. He blinked himself back into reality and lifted his head from Sakura’s shoulder to look into Ino’s worried eyes.

“Huh?” He asked, not remembering her question, which had initially thrown him into the clusterfuck happening in his head.

“Where’d you go?” Sakura asked.

Naruto shook his head, “Nowhere.”

“So?” Ino nudged him, “If he didn’t freak out, what’s the big deal?”

Naruto scratched the back of his head. He didn’t know how to answer. “Uhm…” he started to say, but he couldn’t come up with anything. 

“Well?” Ino nudged him again, but it didn’t draw any answers out of him. Sakura leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at him.

He met her pierced gaze, but then quickly looked away. “What?” He grumbled.

Sakura pinched his whiskered cheek and pulled his face back over so that his eyes were forced to lock with her’s. Naruto winced at the rough treatment, and vaguely wondered why his female childhood friends loved to abuse him so much. 

It was hard not to stare into Sakura’s green eyes, but even so Naruto desperately tried to look away, even in his locked position. “Wha—?” He asked again, this time in a slurred voice due to his cheek that was still being pinched and pulled. 

“Oh my God,” Sakura let go of his face and then looked to Ino. “He’s still not over that cheating bastard!” She declared and Ino gasped.

“Seriously?” Ino looked to Naruto and his blue eyes widened at her.

“What? NO!” 

“Oh, sure,” Sakura scoffed. “You’re not fooling me, Naruto.” She got up and went back to sit at her desk. Naruto stood up when she did, confused at how she came to that conclusion.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Sakura.” Naruto tried to reason, but stopped himself when his pink haired friend shot him with a heated glare. 

“Why are you acting like such an idiot, Naruto? I know you’re smarter than that.”

Naruto’s mouth hung open, “How am I an idiot?” 

“Are you joking?” Sakura fully spun to face him in her chair and pointed her manicured finger at him. “You need to stop acting like this guy is going to drop his fucking wife for you. I’m glad you liked him, and had fun with him, Naruto, but that’s all it was. You’re acting like a stupid little kid, and it’s not funny, or cute. It’s not going to make this guy any less of an asshole and it’s not going to make you any more special than the other dumb fucks who fall for his looks or money or whatever! Stop clinging to him, or the idea of him, or whatever it is that you’re so fucking crazy about, and MOVE ON!” By the time she finished her hand was balled into a shaky fist. She huffed and spun back around in her chair just as Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

“Sakura…” he tried, but she didn’t seem to be listening anymore. Once again she was typing away at her report as if her concentration had never been broken.

“Naruto,” Ino cooed in a voice full of pity. She stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re trying to pass up on the perfect guy; someone who’s handsome, young, and _not_ married, and for what? Some ‘In-the-closet’ sleazy guy who sleeps with other men behind his wife’s back?”

Naruto sputtered, looking back at Ino with a weak expression. “It’s not like that at all!” 

Ino tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at this, showing off her confusion, “What is it, then?”

Naruto sighed. He couldn’t argue with them, but he didn’t want to admit that what they were saying was true. Not to them, or to himself. So he sat back down on the bed and collapsed onto his back. While he stared up at the ceiling, Ino laid beside him and rested her head on his chest.

Sakura didn’t say anything else to him until they got up to leave an hour later. And even then, all she’d said was “See you later.”

He could sense that she was still upset with him.

He didn’t know if he wanted to press the issue, so he instead waved ‘goodbye’ and took off to walk Ino back to her place.

As they were walking outside, Ino tugged at Naruto’s jacket sleeve to get his attention.

“Don’t worry about Sakura,” she said, reading the worry on his face. “She’s just remembering how it was for you when things went down between you, Neji and Kiba. I don’t think she meant for it to come out like that.”

Naruto knew Ino was right, but Sakura was his best friend. She’d only really been mad at him one time in their life and that was when he’d cut a chunk of her hair off during class when they were twelve.

Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded at Ino’s words. Whether he believed them or not, they were comforting. Even so, he didn’t respond to them. They simply walked through the cold in silence the rest of the way.

 

* * *

 

Another week passed. Now that things were getting back to normal for Naruto, he decided he’d let whatever was happening between him and Gaara play out. If anything, the guy was quite interesting to talk to.

They’d text during the day about things they had in common, like their mutual love for soccer and baseball, or murder mystery TV shows and, to Naruto’s surprise, common video game interests.

On a couple nights they’d talk over the phone about things that happened to them over the past couples days. Gaara had a nice voice, so it was easy for Naruto to get into their conversations even if they were a bit boring at times. Gaara also had a very dry sense of humor, which made him think it was strange that Gaara and Shikamaru didn’t get along too well. Maybe Gaara was just protective over his older sister; Naruto wouldn’t be surprised. 

Things were going well between them, and by the end of the week Naruto wasn’t sure why he had been fighting this so much. Gaara and him made a good match. So on Friday when Gaara asked him out to dinner on Saturday, Naruto didn’t hesitate to accept his invitation. He could even admit that it made his heart flutter to think they’d be going on their first official date. 

So, once it hit 6am on Saturday, Naruto was out the door of Club Locust and on his way to his apartment to get some rest.

 

* * *

 

At 2pm Naruto woke up to a knock on his door. He’d fallen asleep on his couch in nothing but his boxers and socks. When he sat up, he twisted his body to crack his sore back. After taking a moment to stretch his bones, Naruto got up from his couch to stop the incessant knocking.

“I’m coming!” Naruto called out right before a yawn forced its way through his system.

 When he opened the door he was surprised to see Sakura standing there holding up a bag of Ichiraku takeout with a sorry look on her face.

They hadn’t spoken since Sakura blew up at him the other day. It was partly because Naruto knew he deserved it and felt a bit too ashamed to approach her. It was also partly because Sakura was embarrassed by the way she’d spoken to him, and didn’t know how she’d approach him. But then again it was also partly because Sakura had gotten so busy at the hospital and with classes that she didn’t know when she’d have the time to formally apologize. So a week passed without a single text exchanged between them. During that time Naruto felt worse than he would’ve imagined. So, seeing Sakura here with that dejected, sorrowful look, was enough for him to want to patch things up.

Naruto scratched his bare stomach, which growled when the scent of salty noodles hit him. Sakura held the bag up closer to his face and looked away, her cheeks as pink as her hair as she spoke through pouted lips, “Peace offering?"

As Naruto stared at Sakura’s embarrassed attempt at an apology, a grin slowly tugged at his lips. She was so cute standing there; he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up into the air. 

“Ah!” Sakura squawked, slapping Naruto’s back to get him to put her down. “Idiot! The food!” She couldn’t help but laugh through her words as he bounced her around.

Naruto laughed as he put her down and took the food from her. He stepped aside to let her in. 

She straightened her clothes before walking into the apartment. Naruto closed the door after her and placed the food onto the counter. Luckily it was still in tact, even if a bit shaken up.

“Man, I’m starving.” Naruto licked his lips as he inhaled the intoxicating aroma lifting from the plastic bag.

Sakura chuckled at him, “Just woke up?” She walked around the counter to pull out to two orders. She busied herself with adding the separated noodles and vegetables to the broth, while Naruto hungrily eyed her movements.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I came here right after work and passed out.”

Sakura mixed the noodles and vegetables into the broth with a pair of chopsticks, and then handed it over to Naruto’s greedily awaiting hands. Once they were in his grasp, he immediately shoved a spool of noodles into his mouth, chewed and swallowed before speaking again, “I’ve got a date tonight.” He peaked at her over his cup of noodles to gage her reaction. 

She looked skeptical, but inquired, “With…?”

“Gaara,” Naruto quickly answered and Sakura’s eyes grew wide. He could’ve sworn he saw them sparkle.

“Really?” She beamed. Naruto simply nodded, taking in another mouthful of noodles. “Shit, Naruto, what did I miss?” Sakura took a bite of her own noodles once they were ready as she eagerly awaited his response. 

Naruto shrugged, acting nonchalant, but the pink tinge on his cheeks was unmistakable. “We’ve been talking a lot and I guess I came to my senses.” He’d like to think so at least. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t think about Sasuke from time to time. But, he figured that was normal and not worth mentioning.

“That’s great Naruto! Wow, I’m so excited. A real date for once.” Sakura wiggled her shoulders and bounced around, looking like a cute little kid hyped on candy.

Naruto laughed at her behavior and shook his head. Just then, he heard his phone buzzing against the couch cushion.

Sakura set her food down and walked over to grab it for him. She lifted the phone up, which had been slipping between the two cushions, and held it up to her face. She quickly read the message in her heard, and then sent Naruto a sly grin. “It’s from Gaara.”

Naruto’s cheeks grew warm, “What’s it say?” He asked, shoving more of the delicious treat into his mouth in his way of hiding his embarrassment. 

“‘Naruto, I can’t wait to see you tonight’.” Naruto’s face was getting even hotter as she recited the message. “‘I hope that you’ll let me take you home tonight, so that I can give you the pleasure you truly deserve’.” Sakura was chuckling through her words, while Naruto stared at her, frozen, with wide eyes, an open mouth and a completely reddened face. “‘I promise you won’t regret a thing. Just wait till you see what I can do with my tongue…”

“Hey!” Naruto leapt forward and grabbed for his phone. Sakura dodged out the way, laughing at his frantic attempt. “No way it says all that!” Naruto tried for his phone again, but Sakura was too quick. It wasn’t until he grabbed for her waist and tickled her with his rough fingers that she finally dropped the phone. He barely caught the fragile device before it hit the floor and quickly held the phone up to make sure Sakura _was_ just pulling his leg.

**Gaara: I’ll pick you up at 8**

He placed a hand over his chest and let out a heavy sigh. Sakura pointed and laughed at his relieved expression.

Naruto smacked her hip, causing her to giggle even more, and pouted, “Geez, Sakura. Don’t play like that.” He began laughing a bit too now that he knew Gaara hadn’t decided to send him sexting messages so early on in their building relationship.

“I couldn’t help myself,” Sakura said, letting out the last of her laughter. Naruto shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, as he couldn’t help but laugh with her some more. 

Once they’d both settled down, Sakura went over and grabbed her food and walked it over to the couch. She plopped down on one of the cushions, and Naruto followed her with his own ramen to do the same. 

As they got comfortable, Sakura switched on the television and began flipping through channels. Naruto had stopped eating to reply to Gaara’s message. When his phone buzzed moments later, she watched from the corner of her eye as he smiled down at his new message. 

She looked down and smiled, “You like him?” She said, and then looked back at Naruto when his attention turned towards her.

He smiled and gave her a short nod. “Yeah, I think so.” It was definitely something a lot more real than what he’d been used to lately. Even if at times he felt like something was off, he figured he’d get over that feeling eventually.

“Good,” Sakura nodded. “I think he’ll be good for you.” That was the general consensus. Naruto nodded at her words, though felt a bitterness towards them that he wasn’t ready to dissect.

Minutes later they found themselves immersed in some docu-drama about women killing their husbands. Sakura had even suggested popping some popcorn.

Three bags later it was nearing 7pm and they were watching the fourth episode’s credits roll down the screen. Sakura sat up and stretched, having been laid across the couch on Naruto’s lap. She turned to her blond friend and nudged his side with her knuckles. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

Naruto looked down at the time on his cable box, then shyly rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess. Not sure what I should wear though.”

“Oh yeah?” Sakura grinned. Naruto gave her an apprehensive look. “Do you know where you’re going? Is it somewhere fancy?” Naruto shrugged carelessly, though he couldn’t help but wonder. Gaara did seem like the type. He doubted they’d be going to some fast food place.

“Probably,” Naruto finally answered.

“Hm,” Sakura rubbed her chin as she eyed him curiously, “Do you even have nice clothes?”

Naruto scoffed and playfully pushed her away, “Of course I have nice clothes! All my clothes are nice.” He crossed his arms after that.

Sakura laughed and shook her head, “I’m talking about _nice_ clothes, Naruto. Don’t kid yourself.”

Naruto’s mouth hung open at the insult. “I have nice clothes!” He whined, and then stood up. Sakura looked up at him, amused, and watched him stalk over and disappear into his room. 

Five minutes later he came back out dressed in, what Sakura recognized as, the same black pants he wore to his mother’s funeral and a wrinkled, faded orange collar shirt.

Sakura tried not to laugh as he stood in front of her. She covered her curling lips with her delicate hand and looked at him up and down.

“Wha—,” Sakura started, but some laughter spilled out so she stopped to collect herself. Naruto rolled his eyes at her, but let her continue, “What is that supposed to be?”

Naruto huffed and ran a hand through his hair. “Well what am I supposed to wear?”

Sakura finally let out her laughter and shook her head. She got up and set a reassuring hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “Definitely not this.” She answered as she gave him another once over. “Come on,” she patted him on the butt with the back of her hand. “We’ll find something.”

 

* * *

 

By 7:45 Naruto stood by his front door fully dressed in a pair of tight black dress pants Sakura had found in the back of his closet and a snug, dark blue, V-neck sweater. He completed the look with a pair of black kicks and a watch that didn’t tell time anymore, but looked the part.

Sakura nodded her head as Naruto turned for her to examine the full effect of the look.

She whistled and snapped her fingers at him, “Damn, Naruto. What a babe.” She rolled her eyes to the back of her head and fanned herself in an exaggerated attempt to show him how “hot” he looked.

Naruto grinned and pulled his arm around Sakura’s shoulders. “I’m pretty sexy, huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and it made her laugh.

She slapped his side after that and pushed him away, “Idiot, he’ll be here soon.”

Naruto checked his broken watch, before holding it too close to Sakura’s face. “It’s only three.” He joked. She laughed and placed a hand on his face to push him away.

“Shut up,” She said and Naruto laughed with her.

They laughed and poked at each other for a few minutes to kill time. A moment later when four knocks hit his door, they both jumped and turned to face it. She grinned at Naruto, “He’s heeere,” she cooed, and he pushed her away.

He brushed off his clothes, worried that their messing around made his appearance look less than perfect, even though it hadn’t.

After looking over his clothes once more, he cleared his throat and opened the door. 

Gaara stood on the other side with his fist up ready to knock again. When his eyes met Naruto’s he gave him a small smile. 

“Hey,” he nodded and Naruto nodded back. 

“Hey,” he fidgeted where he stood and almost sighed in relief when Sakura poked her head over his shoulder.

“Hey there,” she greeted kindly and moved around Naruto with an outstretched hand. “We haven’t formally met.” 

“Right,” Gaara looked from Naruto to his pink haired friend. “Sakura, yes? Naruto has spoken a lot about you.”

“Oh, really?” Sakura lightly elbowed Naruto. “Nothing bad, right?” Gaara took hold of her hand and raised it to his lips for a light kiss. Sakura faltered, but didn’t pull away. She could feel her own cheeks heating up now.

“All good, I promise.” He let go of her hand and she held it to her chest.

She looked at Naruto and bumped him with her shoulder. “Oh, I like him,” she whispered, even though Gaara could clearly hear her.

Naruto’s cheeks were red. He ignored her words in favor of addressing Gaara, “Should we go?” He motioned towards the exit.

Gaara nodded and looked back at Sakura. He gave her a short bow, “It was nice meeting you.” 

Sakura smiled and nodded. “Yeah, totally. Have fun guys.” They turned to leave as she waved them off. While she watched them go she couldn’t help but smile at the pair. For once in what seemed like forever, she didn’t feel like she had to worry about Naruto.

 

* * *

 

As expected, the restaurant Gaara had taken him to was far more upscale than what Naruto was accustomed to. He was definitely glad Sakura had been there to guide him through his apparel, because had he come wearing his first choice, he could only imagine how uncomfortable dinner would be with all the strange looks he’d be getting.

They were seated at a circular table in the middle of the restaurant. When he looked over the menu and saw that he couldn’t pronounce any of the food choices, he decided to let Gaara order for the both of them.

“You know, you can’t be that charming around Sakura,” Naruto joked causing Gaara to curiously look up from his menu. “She’ll want to keep you for herself.”

Gaara smirked and shook his head. “I’d hate to break it to her, but she’s not really my type.”

Naruto laughed, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

They went back and forth about nothing for a while until their waiter came over to deliver their drinks and take their orders. Naruto was happy that he finally felt at ease with Gaara. He was relaxing to be around, and it was nice that they had so much in common even if their personalities were so different. Naruto hated to admit it, but Gaara was a lot like Neji: quiet and charming, but also easy going. 

Naruto could really see himself with Gaara. He could see them going on other dates like this, and likely dates at the more so common folk places Naruto frequented. He really thought he’d be swept away by the redhead when something behind Gaara caught his eye.

He tried not to make a face when he spotted a certain pale, dark haired man sitting three tables away, but he didn’t know how successful he’d been.

As if the universe itself was giving him the big middle finger, there Sasuke was sitting in a seat that faced Naruto’s direction. Even so, his dark eyes weren’t focused on Naruto, but on the red haired woman in front of him, who could only be his wife, holding a small child, who Naruto knew was his daughter.

There they were: a happy family. Naruto hadn’t seen Sasuke since their passing outside of The Coffee Shop. He’d avoided watching the news, that office building and even deleted their message log in his efforts to erase the man’s existence. And yet he was here, breaking his concentration, pulling him away from his date and into a territory Naruto knew was, and should always be, off limits.

Gaara didn’t seem to notice how long he’d stared at Sasuke’s face before his line of vision was cut off by the waiter who was placing their food on their table.

Naruto forced himself to snap out of it when Gaara started speaking, “This is Foie gras, have you had it before?” He pointed at Naruto’s dish with his fork. “It’s fattened duck liver. It sounds much more distasteful than it is. I had it when I visited France a while back.”

“Oh yeah?” Naruto idly poked at it. “I think I’ve had something similar when I went out with Neji.” He didn’t mean to sound so distracted.

Gaara pulled his fork away as he observed his date. “Are you okay?”

Naruto jumped and looked up to meet Gaara’s observant eyes. “Oh, yeah.” He let his gaze drift over to Sasuke’s table. Sasuke had just excused himself and was walking away from the table towards the back of the restaurant. Naruto watched him walk away until he couldn’t be seen anymore, while Gaara continued to eye Naruto curiously. 

For reasons that would take years to explain and understand, Naruto stood up. “I’ll be back. Bathroom.” He’d told Gaara, and then followed in the direction he’d seen Sasuke go.

He dodged a few waiters as he went, and had to excuse himself a few times for bumping into the other patrons. After clawing his way through the crowd at the restaurant’s bar, he found where the men’s room was. He swore he’d seen Sasuke come this way, but he wasn’t sure so he hesitated as he approached the restroom. It didn’t help that he had no idea what he was doing. He’d like to say that instinct was driving him, or maybe curiosity, but he was pretty sure it was just his own idiocy that led him here.

He swallowed and wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs. After a deep breath to calm his jumping nerves, he pushed through the bathroom door. When he saw that the room appeared empty his shoulders involuntarily sagged. Why was he so disappointed? That was just proof that this was stupid and that he shouldn’t have followed him in the first place.

“You're looking for me?” Sasuke’s deep voice made Naruto jump.

He turned to face Sasuke, who was standing by the door with his arms crossed.

Naruto turned his nose up at Sasuke, “Why would I be?”

Sasuke shrugged, “How should I know?”

Naruto glared, “Well I wasn’t!” He didn’t mean to say that as loud as he did, but he played it off. “I came because I need to use the bathroom,” he walked over to the urinal then and stood in front of it. He’d hoped Sasuke would leave after that because he really didn’t have to go. But instead of leaving, Sasuke approached him from behind and looked over his shoulder. He was standing way too close for it to be considered normal, especially when they were at a spot where Naruto was expected to pull his dick out. But, Sasuke didn’t touch him.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him as he waited for Naruto to make a move. “Is that how you pee? With your pants on?” It was said with only with slightest bit of humor laced in his voice.

Naruto felt is temple throb with anger, but also his face was growing more and more flushed with how close their bodies were. The fact that Sasuke’s scent was extremely enticing only made it worse.

Naruto quickly turned around to argue and immediately regretted it because now their chests were practically touching.

He looked up into Sasuke’s eyes and swallowed the thick lump forming in the back of his throat.

“Can you…?” Naruto stopped himself in an attempt to back away from Sasuke, but the urinal behind him left him no room.

“Can I what?” Sasuke asked defiantly, glaring down at Naruto while Naruto continued to glare up at him.

Naruto huffed, “I’m going back to my date.” Hearing himself say that, Naruto knew it wasn’t something he had to mention, but the way Sasuke’s eyes narrowed even more at the words gave him some sort of sick satisfaction. 

“Oh, and I’m sure that’s going very well if you’re following me in here.” Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Naruto thought he sensed a hint of something in his voice.

“As a matter of fact, it is! Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Naruto tried to walk around him, but Sasuke grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. He pushed Naruto against the wall beside the urinal and leaned into him.

He let go of Naruto and simply let his dark eyes pin the blond to the wall. It was more affective than Naruto cared to admit. He felt paralyzed. “Why did you follow me, Naruto?”

Naruto looked away, “Bastard, I told you. I didn’t follow you. I had to go.”

“Then go,” Sasuke challenged. 

“I don’t have to anymore.” Sasuke scoffed at this and shook his head. Naruto was shocked to feel Sasuke’s fingers on his chin, turning his head to face him again. In an instant, he was once again enraptured by Sasuke’s dark magic.

“Liar,” was all Sasuke said before their lips met. The action caused Naruto to suck in a sharp breath. He knew he should pull away, but for some reasons he pressed forward and deepened the kiss. His felt his body relaxing against Sasuke’s, as if he’d been waiting for this all his life. Just thinking about that was enough to make him sick to his stomach, so he pushed the thought aside, focusing more on the way Sasuke’s lips sucked and teased his.

But, when the door to the bathroom opened, the spell was broken.

Naruto placed both of his hands on Sasuke’s chest and roughly shoved him away. Breathlessly, he whipped his head towards the intruder, who to his relief wasn’t his red headed date, but was just some middle-aged man standing there looking shocked.

Naruto didn’t wait for anyone to say anything. The realization of what he’d been doing hit him in an instant. With his head hung, he shoved past Sasuke and shot out of the bathroom.

Outside of the restroom he pushed past anyone in his way. He made it to his table in record speed, where Gaara was standing. 

Gaara had just gotten up to search for Naruto when he returned. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Naruto didn’t wait for him. Naruto grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the table. He was barely able to throw a few bills onto the table from his wallet as Naruto proceeded to rush them out.

“Naruto, what’s—,” Gaara paused when he looked in the direction Naruto had come from as he was still being pulled towards the exit. A man had just made it through the small restaurant crowd to a table where a woman and child sat. It was a man Gaara remembered seeing a week ago during his first meeting with Naruto since his return to Tokyo. If he remembered correctly, his name was Sasuke.

Gaara glared at the dark haired man who wasn’t paying their commotion any mind. Seconds later he was out of sight, and then they were out of the restaurant. Naruto just kept pulling him along and Gaara quietly followed. He assumed he’d get the answers he was looking for once Naruto figured out where they were going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! Please don't "boo" me for being a couple days late with my update >.<
> 
> Thank you all for reading this story thus far! I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter and are excited to see what happens next. I, for one, am very excited to see what you guys think. Some of you give me so much life with your comments, I love it. <3 <3 
> 
> I am going to try my darnedest to push the next chapter out early since I updated this one late. No promises though. 
> 
> Thank you all for your support! Expect an update no later than Saturday! Till next time~


	8. Bastard

Sasuke ran a hand through his long, black hair as he watched Naruto dash out of the restroom. He let out a frustrated breath, and glared at the middle-aged intruder who was still standing by the door with his mouth hung open. After a moment Sasuke hissed at him, “What?”

His voice seemed to send chills down the man’s spine, because instead of going to do his business, the man turned and quickly left.

He sighed again, and went over to the mirror to straighten out his clothes. As he stared into the mirror with his dark eyes, he couldn’t help but let his mind drift to a certain blond who’d just made his great escape.

The kid was weird; that was for sure. What had started out as, what Sasuke thought would be, a simply one-night-stand was turning into something like a game of Cat and Mouse. Which one was the cat and which was the mouse was a little unclear. He could tell Naruto was somewhat infatuated with him, and Sasuke could admit he found it worth exploiting since Naruto had proven himself to be good in bed. Why not take advantage of this unexpected turn? But, Sasuke had to wonder. Since when did he start feeling so frustrated?

After running another hand through his already perfect hair, Sasuke left the bathroom to return to his table.

“What the hell took you so long?” was how his wife greeted him upon his return. Karin was a hotblooded, redheaded woman, with no regards to her foul language. Even with Sarada sitting ignorantly by her side, she wasn’t one to mince words.

Sasuke shrugged at her as he took his seat across the table.

Karin was his wife, but to say that they were husband and wife was a far stretch to anyone who actually knew them. Karin’s family and his have been acquainted since before they were born. He’d known her his entire life. They were both Japanese born, but raised in America. Sasuke was the son of the Ambassador and Karin was the daughter of a man who owned one of the largest technology companies in America. You could call them childhood friends, but Sasuke wasn’t much for playing outside or hanging out. So “friends” was also a bit of a reach. 

It quickly became apparent that their parents were forcing their interactions. Karin didn’t mind, she’d even admitted many times that she wanted him to marry her. Even though he’d agreed to date Karin, upon his parent’s request, at age eighteen he’d told her that he didn’t feel any attraction towards her or any other woman. She’d taken it well enough, and they agreed to continue this charade for the benefit of their future. Sasuke wasn’t much for relationships anyway, and he could admit that the idea of bearing a child had always been exciting. And Karin was just happy to become the wife of such a desired and sought after man. So, it all worked out.

He went to Japan for college, and when he came back to America at the age of twenty-one they were married. Six years later Karin was pregnant with Sarada.

“Some kid just made a shit ton of commotion. You literally just missed it.” Karin snickered, pointing back with her thumb towards the exit. “You think it was the food? Maybe he got sick…”

“Maybe,” Sasuke was completely uninterested in what she was saying. He saw that Sarada wasn’t properly eating her mashed potatoes, so he picked up her spoon and held a full scoop of it to her mouth. She glared down at the soggy food, but opened her mouth and allowed her father to feed her.

He gave her a small smile, one reserved only for her, and handed her the spoon so that she could continue on her own.

“I wish I could’ve gotten a better look at him,” she snickered again, unashamed of her childishness. She went on talking about something else. Sasuke let her voice become background noise as he cut and chewed at the steak their waiter brought to the table while he was in the bathroom. 

In the bathroom…

He was pulled into thoughts about Naruto again. For once, he had no idea what he was doing. Sasuke was used to being in control, but Naruto was making it hard to understand exactly what his intentions were. But beyond that, the blond was entirely too confusing. He’d come bother him at work, or at his place, and Sasuke would think that he’d come to continue what they had started, but then he leaves and Sasuke is continuously left wondering what the hell they were doing. And more over, why the hell was he still entertaining this kid? 

Karin was still talking, about something else this time, “I found my sister.”

Sasuke allowed his attention to be pulled by her. Karin’s sister was a sensitive subject. He didn’t know much about her and when he was very young he’d only seen her a handful of times. What he did know is that when he and Karin were ten, her older sister, who was meant to take over their family’s fortune, gave it all up. She let some bastard (Karin’s words) impregnate her and then abandoned them, leaving the States and never looking back. 

Karin laughed to herself and shook her head, “I’d been looking for someone alive this whole time.” She shrugged, “Turns out she kicked the bucket a year ago.” She chuckled, but Sasuke could see that she didn’t find any of it funny.

“I’m sorry,” he offered, and he meant it.

Karin nodded and sipped at her forgotten wine. “You remember when she left, right?” She didn’t wait for his response as she continued, “She went away with some guy she met in college. After he knocked her up they apparently came to Japan where she gave birth.” Karin’s bright, reddish eyes were focused on her drink as she spoke. She lifted the glass and twirled the dark liquid around, watching as it lined the inside of the fine glass with a red sheen. “And a couple years ago she was diagnosed with cancer. Serves her right, I guess.” Her words were bitter, but Sasuke could tell she didn’t mean them.

Karin’s quest to find her sister was something she’d recently decided to embark on. Her parents were fully content on erasing her older sister from their family for the disrespect she showed them. And growing up, Karin was brought up to believe that her sister wasn’t worth missing. But, every once and a while Karin would do a little research to try to find the woman who’d abandoned her. It wasn’t until now that she’d found something so concrete.

She went on, “That woman didn’t even change her family name. How arrogant is that?” Sasuke knew what she was thinking. Why leave your family to marry a man and not take his family name? Wouldn’t that make it easier for them to find her? It was likely that she wasn’t trying to hide from them at all. And maybe she wanted to be found. Karin was likely beating herself up because she’d been so stubborn. For so long she refused to look for her sister, and now that she did, her sister wasn’t even around for her to yell at her for leaving. 

Sasuke noticed that Sarada had stopped eating again, so he leaned over and assisted her with another spoonful of mashed potatoes. Karin watched him, but at the same time was distracted by her own thoughts.

They spent the rest of the meal eating in silence. It was usually like this, so it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Every now and then Sarada would talk about something that didn’t make sense, and when she’d lose her train of thought, she’d go back to poking at her food.

It wasn’t until after the waiter came back with their check that Karin spoke again, picking up from where she left off. 

“I want to meet him.”

Sasuke didn’t know what she meant, so he raised an eyebrow up at her.

She explained, while gripping the neck of her glass so tight that her knuckles were losing color, “I want to meet that bastard who took her away.”

 

* * *

 

Once they left the restaurant Sasuke walked Karin and Sarada over to the sleek black car waiting for them. Sai stood by its side, smiling at them while he held the back door open.

Stopping in front of the vehicle, Sasuke kneeled down in front of Sarada and pulled her into a tight hug.

The little girl giggled and briefly wrapped her short arms around his neck before he pulled back. He gave her another smile and softly bumped their foreheads together before he stood to address his wife. Sai helped Sarada into the car, and waited patiently for Karin to come in next. 

“Are you gonna come with me?” Karin said once he was back at eye level. She continued to fully clarify her meaning, “Tomorrow… to meet him?” 

Sasuke shrugged, “If you want me to.”

She smiled, then slid over to his side and nudged him with her elbow. “Aw, you really do care about me, don’t you?” 

He lightly slapped her arm away and rolled his eyes. “Whatever, I’ll pick you up tomorrow.” 

She nodded, and was about to get into the car when another thought stopped her, “You know. You haven’t been looking too good lately. Has work been stressing you out?” 

Sasuke didn’t know what she meant. Had he looked any different today than any other day? He narrowed his eyes at her and voiced his thoughts, “What are you talking about?”

Karin shrugged, while a smile tugged at her lips, “I don’t know, but I’m starting to see some wrinkles.” She poked his forehead and Sasuke’s eye narrowed further into a dark glare. He really hated when she did this sort of thing. And at the moment, it sort of reminded him of his newfound blond interest. She poked him again and he was tempted to grab her finger and twist. She whispered this time; “I’m just saying honey; if you don’t get laid soon you might end up looking like your father.” 

Sasuke’s nostrils flared at this, but he didn’t have the chance to retaliate.

Karin quickly waved and hopped into the car, calling out to him, “Pick me up at noon!” just as she closed the door.

He glared at the car as it drove off, and would’ve wished for the worst if Sarada weren’t in there as well. Making a joke about his recently deceased father was low, even for her, but it wasn’t as if his father made himself very likable. So, he didn’t let it bother him for long.

He let out a deep breath and pulled his phone from his pocket. He typed a quick message to Suigetsu, and then walked over to the restaurant’s valet attendant to retrieve his car.

 

* * *

 

When he got back to his condo, Sasuke was greeted by his silver haired colleague and friend. He stood outside of Sasuke’s door holding up a cheap bottle of wine and a shameless box of condoms.

Sasuke made a face that resembled disgust and revulsion.

Suigetsu doubled over at the look he was given, and moved aside so that Sasuke could unlock the door.

“Dumbass,” Sasuke grumbled, and it only made Suigetsu laugh harder. Sasuke pushed the door open, and was tempted to close the door in his friend’s face as he went inside. They kicked their shoes off and walked through. Sasuke stayed by the door to hang up his jacket, while Suigetsu chose to toss his onto the floor.

“What?” Suigetsu shrugged carelessly, “I didn’t want to come empty handed.” He walked over and sat the cheap bottle on the counter along with the box of Trojans.

Suigetsu was someone Sasuke had met when he’d came to Japan for college. He was considered Sasuke’s first and only real friend. He was so weird and hard to get rid of, eventually Sasuke stopped pushing him away. They both studied business management and were both gay, so it gave them a lot to talk about. Or rather, a lot for Suigetsu to talk about while Sasuke listened, grunted or made backhanded comments.

Somehow Sasuke ended up trusting him enough to start a business with him. While he moved back to America to start his “family” with Karin, he also worked Suigetsu, who stayed behind in Japan to build their company into what it is today. 

Sasuke joined him by the counter and lifted up the ten-dollar bottle of Merlot. “Barefoot?” He held up the bottle to Suigetsu, “Are you serious?”

“It’s tasty!” Suigetsu snatched the bottle back and cradled it to his chest. Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked away towards his bedroom. He began unbuttoning his collar shirt as he went. Suigetsu furrowed his eyebrows at his friend’s retreating back. “We’re not gonna drink beforehand?”

Sasuke finished with his shirt and threw it to the side, exposing his naked back. He looked back at Suigetsu, “I’m not in the mood to drink.” With that, he continued on his way to his room.

Suigetsu grinned at him, forgoing the wine for the box of condoms before rushing after Sasuke.

He undid his own shirt and tossed it to the floor alongside Sasuke’s in the hallway. When he got to the room, Sasuke was in his boxers sitting on his bed as if he expected Suigetsu to kneel in front of him. And honestly, he just might.

Suigetsu kept his grin as he walked forward until he stood in between Sasuke’s spread legs. Even though Sasuke looked bored watching his actions, Suigetsu didn’t feel discouraged. He slowly unzipped his pants and pushed them past his thighs, along with his boxers, letting them crumble in a pile to the floor. Standing there naked, Sasuke just stared at him, waiting for him to make his next move. So he did. 

Suigetsu lifted his knees up onto the bed and straddled Sasuke with his strong thighs. Sasuke finally moved, letting his pale hands run along those thighs until both hands reached a firm ass. He squeezed it, but didn’t find much pleasure in doing so. 

In fact, he was still soft. He’d had sex with Suigetsu plenty of times, and by now he’d usually be a little more enthusiastic than this. He just wasn’t feeling it. So when Suigetsu ran his hands down his chest and into his boxers, he wasn’t surprised when his friend froze.

“Uh…” Suigetsu began, poking at Sasuke’s penis as if it was some unusual specimen. “You gonna wake up down there?” He looked down, then back up into Sasuke’s unamused eyes. “I don’t think it will go in soft. Pretty sure that’ll be painful for the both of us.” He grinned at his own lame joke, while Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed him off. Suigetsu laughed it off and pulled his boxers on before sitting beside his dark haired friend. 

Sasuke huffed and ran a hand through his hair.

Suigetsu patted Sasuke’s knee, his own erection already dying down now that it seemed like sex wasn’t on the table anymore.

Sasuke glared down at Suigetsu’s hand, but didn’t say anything. Suigetsu spoke up then, “Why don’t you tell papa what’s going on?”

Sasuke’s face scrunched up, and he quickly moved his knee so that Suigetsu’s hand would fall off, and even scooted an inch or two away. “You’re disgusting.”

Suigetsu laughed and shook his head, “No really! You’re the one who called me over here and now you’re not into it. What gives?”

Sasuke shrugged, honestly not knowing how to answer. There were a lot of things going on in his mind that were both frustrating and hard to get rid of.

When he’d seen Naruto in the restaurant sitting with that eyesore with the red hair, Sasuke hadn’t known what to think.

A part of him felt a bit frustrated since the last time he’d really seen Naruto before their little run in, was when Naruto had came over to his place. But then Sai showed up and Naruto left. It wasn’t like Sasuke was expecting anything, but with the way things were going with the blond, he’d assumed they would give it a round two. But nothing happened.

Another part of him felt excited because there was something thrilling about Naruto. Sasuke had never pursued anyone in his life, even his wife was somewhat handed to him. And yet, here he was craving a second taste of what Naruto had to offer. Which, from what Sasuke could tell from their first sexual encounter, was quite a bit.

“You still there?” Suigetsu leaned forward so that his face was right in front of Sasuke’s. Sasuke sneered and pushed the silver haired man away. Suigetsu grabbed his hand and moved it away, grinning at Sasuke’s sulking face. “What? You aren’t thinking about that blondie again, are you?”

Sasuke’s nostrils flared, “What would you know?” He was a little shocked that his friend was able to read him so well. And also a bit perturbed that Suigetsu had caught onto whatever was going on between him and Naruto.

Suigetsu snickered, “Dude, we haven’t fucked in weeks. And the last two times I saw you with him, you started acting all weird.” Suigetsu looked up at the ceiling as he thought out loud, “Must’ve been some sweet ass, huh?”

Sasuke was quietly glaring at him, unable to come to terms with what Suigetsu was suggesting. Sure, he’d been a little more interested in this one particular blond than he had been in any other one-night endeavor, or even his regular bed companion, but that didn’t mean that there was anything special about Naruto. He was a loud idiot, and a kid on top of that. If anything, Sasuke was just confused as to how things turned out the way they had. If anything, he was frustrated that the blond kept _teasing_ him. If anything, he was NOT interested in Naruto for anything other than sex. That was for sure.

“I mean,” Suigetsu continued, drawing Sasuke’s attention back to the nonsense he was spewing. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had a little crush on the kid.”

Sasuke’s eyes fully narrowed into a glare this time, and Suigetsu was almost shocked by the heat of his stare. 

“Hey! I’m just saying,” Suigetsu tried to defend himself, but the look in Sasuke’s eyes only grew darker.

“What the hell are you on about?” Sasuke growled and looked away, completely in denial of this ridiculous accusation. Crush? Who? Sasuke’d never had a crush on anyone. In fact, he’d never so much as admitted to _liking_ anyone. Sure, there was something interesting about Naruto, and yeah, he was undeniably his type, but that was it. There was no way he’d developed anything other than lust for that idiot. He barely knew the kid.

“Dude, hear me out.” Sasuke had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what Suigetsu had to say, but he allowed him to continue. “I’ve known you for ten or so years now, and you’ve never had any real interest in anyone. And before you met me the closest thing you had to a relationship was with your wife, which…”Suigetsu closed his eyes and shook his head.”Don’t even get me started. I mean, what if you actually like this guy? How would you know since you’ve never liked anyone…?” He grinned, “Aside from me, of course.”

Sasuke could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise and prickle at his friend’s words. Didn’t he know how ridiculous all of this sounded?

Suigetsu shrugged, “I’m just saying. I’ve never seen you talk to someone you’ve slept with, after you’ve slept with them, other than me. And let’s face it. I’m a spectacular human being, so that’s not surprising.”

Sasuke sighed, unable to stand his friend’s presence any longer. He grumbled, “If you’re just going to speak out of your ass, you can leave.”

Suigetsu laughed at this, but stood up and gathered his clothes, knowing that he’d overstayed his welcome. As he did, he mumbled loud enough for Sasuke to hear, “At least my ass is getting more excitement from my talking than from you.” As he got close to the door, a pillow came flying towards him. He ducked and made his quick escape. 

Sasuke remained on the bed, glaring at the place where his friend had dodged his assault. He stared until he heard his front door close, then laid back onto his bed.

He stared up at the ceiling and couldn’t help being bothered by what Suigetsu said.

 _Crush_.

That word just bothered him. He didn’t have a crush. If anything, he was just interested in having sex with him again, nothing more.

Naruto was just so frustrating to begin with. He somehow kept popping up and making it hard for Sasuke to throw him aside the way he’d initially intended to. And now, for some reason, he was craving him. Sasuke had never felt this excited around anyone, and it was irritating to think that this excitement could be labeled as something so rudimentary as a “crush”. 

And even _if_ that were the case, Sasuke didn’t know how to be in a relationship, and he didn’t care to learn. Being with Karin was systematic; being with various other temporary bed partners was easy, actually pursuing a relationship, however?

No way.

Sasuke shook his head and turned over onto his side. His mind drifted.

He wondered why Naruto had left his place the other day looking so upset. And why the next time he’d seen him he was with that weird looking redhead. Even more confusingly, why did Naruto follow him into that bathroom?

He narrowed his eyes. Why the hell was he still thinking about all of this now? It must be that damn Suigetsu’s fault for infesting his mind with these unnecessary, useless ideas.

His phone lit up and buzzed from his nightstand. He peaked up at it, and then lifted his body so that he could grab it and check the notification.

It was from Karin. She’d sent him the address to where they’d be going to tomorrow. He sighed and placed his phone back. Nothing would come from thinking about that stupid blond. Absolutely nothing.

  

* * *

 

The next morning Sasuke drove over to the Uchiha Estate to pick up Karin.

He made his way up the long driveway, around the circular path that lead to the front door. He stopped his car and waited for Karin to approach the vehicle. Sai was beside her, and opened the passenger door for her to enter.

Once she was in Sai closed the door and waved them off. Sasuke took that as his cue to put his car in drive.

Karin buckled in and turned to Sasuke with a big grin. “I’m sort of excited.” She admitted as Sasuke pulled out of the circle and made his way back down the long driveway.

“Hn,” was all Sasuke cared to offer to her pointless statement.

Karin wasn’t bothered. She turned her attention out the passenger window and stared at the passing scenery as they made their way to the address she’d sent to Sasuke the previous night.

It took thirty minutes for them to arrive at the small family home in Ginza.

Sasuke parked on the side of the road, and sat there with the car off waiting for Karin to exit.

Instead, she just stared at him with her mouth slightly open.

He looked at her and narrowed his eyes, “What?”

Karin returned his glare, “What do you mean, ‘What?’ You’re just gonna sit here? You’re not coming in with me?”

Sasuke’s eyebrow rose at this, “Why should I?”

Karin reached over and pinched his arm, which still gripped the steering wheel. Hell, she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been planning to let her out and drive off without her.

“Come on,”she whined. “I don’t want to go in there alone.” She pleaded, but her childlike tone only served to prick at Sasuke’s nerves.

“You’re a grown woman.” Sasuke didn’t think he needed to say more.

Her face fell into a complete pout. She looked away, “Come on Sasuke. I don’t ask for much.”

Sasuke stared at her after this. Damn if he’d admit that her words made him feel the slightest bit guilty. He sighed and moved to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Whatever,” he said, and Karin looked over to him with a bright smile.

She didn’t say anything as they both exited the sports car. Sasuke walked around to stand beside her; both of them looking at the small home that could easily fit in one room inside of the grandiose manor where the Uchiha family lived.

Karin took a deep breath. She was tempted to grab hold of Sasuke’s hand, but she knew he wouldn’t oblige her. So in order to stop her fidgeting, she shoved her hands into her coat pockets.

Sasuke looked at her then, wondering if her plan was just to stare at the home and not actually approach or enter it. He waited until she looked to him to nod his head towards the building.

“Right,” Karin said through a heavy breath.

They walked together up the small pathway until they reached a tacky, light blue door. As they stood in front of it, Sasuke decided Karin was taking too long and reached over to press the doorbell button.

They heard the faint ringing from where they stood outside the door, along with some bumping noises that were likely footsteps. 

The noises grew louder, and when they stopped they heard the clicking and clanking of locks being undone. A moment later the door was swung halfway open, revealing a tired looking, older man (possibly in his fifties) with dull blond hair. He was wearing a pajama set that typical old men wore, and looked like he’d just crawled out of bed. Strange, since it was already almost 1pm.

Karin stared at the man who was only a little bit taller than her. Her throat had gone dry, so she swallowed to try and alleviate some of the discomfort.

For a bit too long the trio just stared at each other. The blond man’s eyebrows furrowed with worry. It looked as if a million thoughts crossed his mind. After a moment, he spoke one of them, “Hello, who are you? You aren’t here for my son, are you?”

Sasuke and Karin looked at each other. Sasuke was silently telling her that she needed to speak up, and she understood. So she nodded and looked back at the blond man. “Uh, no. Actually we’re here for you.”

The blond man looked even more concerned. “Are you the police?” 

Sasuke scoffed, somehow unable to hide how ridiculous that question was. And Karin was no better. Her eyes widened as she barked out a fit of laughter, shocking the man and causing him to take a step back into his home.

“No, we’re not police, doofus. Do we look like police?” Karin said through her laughter. 

Sasuke had expected the man to react to the insult, but he didn’t. He instead, tilted his head and observed them carefully.

“Then who are you?” The man asked again, looking a bit more relaxed now that he knew Sasuke and Karin weren’t there to take him away. Sasuke had to wonder if he had done something suspicious enough for him to think that the police might come for him or if he was just a paranoid old man. 

Karin cleared her throat once her laughter died down. When she hesitated to speak again, Sasuke nudged her with his elbow to give her some sort of encouragement. Also, it was late October and cold as hell. Sasuke was growing more and more irritated and uncomfortable with standing outside in this brisk weather.

His little nudge seemed to give her the push she needed, so finally Karin spoke up, “I’m Karin Uchiha. But, I was born Karin Uzumaki. I’m Kushina Uzumaki’s sister.”

The man’s eyes widened, threatening to pop and fall from his aged face.

“Uzumaki?” He said the name slowly, while he still held his dumbfounded expression.

She nodded, and then spoke again, “You’re Minato Namikaze, right?”

The man, Minato, nodded then stepped aside. “You should come in.” 

When the man stepped aside for them to enter his home, Sasuke was tempted to turn around and wait in his car. He wasn’t at all up for this. While he supported Karin in whatever she was trying to prove or accomplish by coming here, it really had nothing to do with him.

But when Karin noticed him hesitate to enter, she looked back at him with those same pleading eyes she’d given him in the car. He glared at her, because he knew she was just trying to guilt him into being tugged along. But even though he knew she was manipulating him, he huffed and followed her along anyway. It wasn’t going to hurt to sit through this little “family reunion” for a few minutes.

Sasuke walked in after Karin and Minato shut the door behind them. Now that the man knew who they were he looked a bit embarrassed to be in his PJs.

He scratched the back of his head and gave them both a shy look, “You two don’t mind if I go up and change real quick, do you?”

Karin shrugged, “Take your time.” Sasuke wanted to refute that, but he held back.

Minato smiled and nodded, “Do you need any coffee or anything?”

They both shook their heads, likely for the same reason. From the looks of this commoner home, the coffee was probably cheap or instant. Neither sounded appealing.

Minato excused himself after that, and left them downstairs in the living room to look around and feel out of place.

Karin turned to Sasuke and grinned once they were alone. “This place is tiny, isn’t it?” She chuckled, and Sasuke nodded.

“Hn,” the living area was even smaller than the one in his downtown condominium.

“I can’t believe my sister would settle for something like this. It’s suffocating.” Karin made a face as she observed all of the furniture, which was just as tacky as that blue door that led them in. It was all pale blues and oranges. The tables and accent furniture were made of rustic woods and held up strange trinkets, ornaments and artwork that looked homemade.

While they waited, they decided to take in all the details of the pint sized home, which in actuality was a decent-sized home for most people.

Sasuke’s eyes landed on a floating shelf that carried some strange, artistic sculptures, and a few picture frames. He walked closer to it, feeling an unusual curiosity build up in him as he observed one of the family pictures.

That man, Minato, stood beside a woman whose features resembled Karin’s, but softer. They were holding each other around the waist, and in front of them was a little, blond boy that looked around five or six. He was smiling big and missing a few teeth.

Sasuke reached out and grabbed the frame, holding it closer to his face. What made him most uncomfortable were the three distinct marks on either side of the boy’s cheeks, like whiskers. It was so daunting, that Sasuke felt his blood run cold as he continue to stare at it.

There was no way.

His eyes narrowed, wondering briefly if they were playing tricks on him.

“Holy shit,” Karin’s voice took him away from the photo. He sat the frame down and looked back at his wife. She was pointing at a different photo that hung on the opposite wall. Sasuke blanched. It was a graduation photo of a boy that so obviously resembled Naruto. “Oh my God, I’ve totally met this kid!”

Sasuke knew what she was referring to. Naruto had mentioned seeing Karin in Kyushu a couple weeks ago. When he’d shown up at his place, right when they were about to…

Sasuke looked away. He was starting to feel sick.

Karin tilted her head at him. “You okay? You look sick.” She seemed to be able to read him better and better the longer they spent time together. 

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t. He was coming to the realization that he’d fucked his wife’s nephew and that was a bit heavy for him to suddenly take in. 

“You don’t look fine.” She walked up to him and placed a hand on his forehead. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Sasuke scoffed and turned his head away so that he could remove Karin’s hand from his face.

Just then, Minato came back down dressed in his blue jeans and plaid collar shirt. “Sorry I took so long, I had to wake my son up.”

If Sasuke was pale before, he was becoming transparent now.

“Oh, does he live here?” Karin asked, following Minato into the kitchen. Sasuke followed behind, but was secretly dreading this uncomfortable feeling building within him. If he were a lesser man, he’d make a run for it.

Minato laughed and scratched the back of his head, and Sasuke hated that the action now reminded him of Naruto, “No. He likes to stay with me sometimes. He wasn’t feeling well last night. Bad date,” As they moved into the kitchen, they could hear the shower start up upstairs. Sasuke mentally noted that once the water was turned off, it would be time make a clean escape.

“Oh that’s too bad.” Karin said more so to oblige the older man than because she actually cared. She spoke easily as if she’d known him for some time, but Sasuke knew she was nervous. She just had a hell of a poker face. 

Minato motioned for them to sit around the small round table in the kitchen. Sasuke spotted another picture of Naruto tacked onto the refrigerator. It was another childhood photo of him, this time wearing a karate uniform. He immediately looked away and took a seat next to Karin. Hopefully this conversation would go quickly, and then they could get the hell out of there.

He wasn’t sure why, but meeting Naruto like this, in his father’s home, felt wrong. He knew that if he did, he wouldn’t have any control over the situation, and that was troubling, to say the least.

He noticed Minato was looking right at him, so he looked back and Minato spoke up “You’re the husband?” 

“Hn,” Sasuke nodded, realizing he hadn’t formally introduced himself yet. “Sasuke Uchiha,” he offered and Minato nodded at the familiar name.

“The Uchiha’s, like Fugaku Uchiha the Ambassador?” He questioned and looked between the pair. They nodded, and Minato nodded back with a short chuckle, “I don’t watch the news often, but I do know a little.” He looked to Sasuke and bowed his head briefly. “I’m sorry about your loss.” 

Sasuke nodded in thanks, but wondered if someone could really be sorry about a dead man they never really knew. The news had made it seem like some big tragic event, but in actuality the old man died of a heart attack like many old men did. Sasuke hadn’t been very affected. And was honestly more so relieved since he was able to move to back to Japan without his father’s overbearing presence in the way. His mother had passed away long ago, and his brother had already happily moved on. He wanted to do the same for himself.

Minato continued, tearing him from his straying thoughts, “I know how hard it is to lose a loved one.” 

Karin snorted out an arrogant laugh, “You’re one to talk.” Sasuke looked over at her. She went on, “Kushina left our family to be with you. And now she’d dead. She didn’t even bother telling us she was sick. No… screw our parents. She didn’t even tell me.” She was glaring at Minato. Somehow, without Sasuke realizing it, the mood had shifted. Minato was looking like he wanted to look away, but he didn’t. He kept his hurt eyes on Karin.

“I know. She also felt bad about what she did.”

Karin snorted and looked away. She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “That’s bullshit,” she said under her breath.

Minato continued, unfazed, “She talked about you a lot; you and your parents. I think she thought,” he scratched the back of his head, and looked away as he figured out his next words, “Maybe she thought that you all didn’t want to see her again. And when she got sick…”

Karin suddenly got up, causing her chair to fall over from her momentum. “Don’t give me that shit, okay? She was a coward, and didn’t want to face her own mistakes. Maybe if she would’ve come home instead of running away, she wouldn’t fucking be dead right now!”

The insult to his late wife looked like it hurt. Sasuke stood up, he could tell things would get out of hand soon if he didn’t do something, so he grabbed hold of Karin’s wrist and pinned her down with a glare. She looked at him and faltered. He shook his head and spoke in a firm, but calming voice, “Calm down.”

Karin huffed. She looked between her husband and Minato, who was still sitting down and looking beat up from her minor verbal abuse. She let out another breath to calm herself. Sasuke picked up her chair for her and she took her seat again. Sasuke sat with her, and lifted a hand to rub his aching temple. This whole thing was giving him a headache.

“I don’t know what I should say.” Minato said honestly. Sasuke almost felt bad for him.

“I’m sorry,” Karin said, looking away and probably feeling embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to say that. It was childish.”

“It’s alright.” Minato smiled, “I won’t make anymore excuses.”

Karin chuckled fondly at the man’s words. It was easy to see why someone would fall for someone like this. He was disturbingly kind and understanding. Sasuke had to wonder if a man like this had an angry setting.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know why I came here,” Karin said with a sad smile. “It was probably just to let you have it, but your face is so kind and stupid; it doesn’t feel as good as I want it to.” Sasuke supposed that was meant to be a compliment. Minato looked like he was taking it as such. “I wont take up more of your time. But, I guess…” Karin was fidgeting again. She crossed her legs to keep them from bouncing. “Was she…y’know…? Happy, or whatever?”

Minato’s face brightened. He leaned back in his chair and grinned at them. “She was. But,” Minato dug in his pocket and pulled out a small, frayed picture. He handed it to Karin, and Sasuke peeked at it while it was in her hands.

It was a wallet photo of, what Sasuke assumed was, toddler Karin being held by a teenage girl, who could only be Kushina.

While Karin observed the photo, Sasuke saw gentleness in her expression he’d only seen once before and that was when she’d given birth to Sarada.

Minato scratched his cheek shyly as he spoke, “She used to carry that around in her purse.”

Karin looked up at Minato, then back down at the photo. She laughed to herself and shook her head. “That bitch,” despite her words, her voice was soft. Sasuke noted that the shower water upstairs had just been turned off. He didn’t want to interrupt this moment, but…

“We should go.” He looked at his watch. They’d been there for about fifteen minutes and it seemed like Karin got the answers she was looking for, so…

“What?” Karin looked over at him as she spoke. “Do you have somewhere to go?”

“I need to stop by the office.”

“The office? You never go in on Sundays.” Karin narrowed her eyes at him as she attempted to see through his lie.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, seeming nonchalant, “So what? Things change.”

“Oh yeah right.” Karin’s eyes widened as a thought came to mind. She whispered angrily at him, “Oh my God, are you leaving me to go fuck some guy while I’m trying to reconnect with my dead sister?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened this time. Jesus, he hadn’t expected her to go there. Minato was quietly watching the exchange from his side of the table, looking like he wanted to interject, but didn’t know how.

At the same time he could hear the bumping sound of footsteps moving around upstairs. It made him feel an unusual sense of panic. He hid it well.

“It’s nothing like that,” Sasuke answered easily after recovering from his momentary shock. 

Karin leaned back and scrunched her nose at him, clearly not believing him.

“It’s alright if you have to leave.” Minato finally spoke up, drawing the couple’s attention towards him. Sasuke almost had half a mind to kiss this man for setting him free. But then, the next words that came out of his mouth gave Sasuke the urge to strangle him. “But, before you go, you should meet our son. He is your nephew, after all.” 

Once again, the color drained from Sasuke’s face. He stood up abruptly, causing the other two to look up at him shocked.

Sasuke glared down at nothing in particular, frustrated that he wasn’t acting like himself.

“That’s fine. I’ll wait in the car.” Sasuke said to Karin, then made his way to the door. 

Karin got up after him. She followed him into the living room and grabbed his arm to stop him. 

“Wait. What the hell has gotten into you?”

Sasuke turned and glared down at her hand. After a second or two he knew she wasn’t going to let go, so he turned his glare up to her eyes, which defiantly glared back.

“Karin, I came with you. I came inside. I listened to whatever you two had to say. Now, I’m ready to go. What is your problem?" 

Karin huffed, her grip tightening around his arm as she spoke, “What the fuck is so bad about staying an extra minute or so? You’ve been acting weird since we got here. Do you know something?”

She was sharp. But Sasuke wasn’t going to give himself away that easily.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, trying to school his expression back into its usual stoic preset. “I’m just ready to go.” He tried to reason with her.

Karin’s grip on his arm loosened enough for him to pull it free. She pushed her long hair behind her ear and looked away. “Fine,” she spoke in a sullen voice. “If you want to wait in the car. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Sasuke hated to admit that he felt bad. He was acting like a coward.

Sure, Karin knew about his other sexual partners. After being together for so long, maintaining this relationship for their public image and for Sarada’s sake, there was no point in him lying to her, or her holding him back. And on top of that, she had her own sexual endeavors Sasuke didn’t care to know about. But nothing good would come out of her knowing that one particular partner of his, one that he couldn’t seem to break free from, was her sister’s son. 

He almost changed his mind. But, he couldn’t bring himself to. So, he nodded, and began walking away again towards the front door.

But, of course, things were never that easy.

“Sasuke?” A voice called out to him, and he stopped in his tracks like a trapped deer. He closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. After a moment, he willed himself to turn around. As soon as he did, his dark eyes locked with bright blue ones belonging to a blond standing shocked in the middle of the stairs.

Karin looked between the two of them with her own shocked expression.

It felt like a long while passed as they stared at each other; Sasuke with his dark, narrowed eyes, and Naruto with his wide, brilliant ones. They stared at each other, and Sasuke knew what Naruto was going to say before he’d said it.

“What are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo~ 
> 
> I'm late again ._. Sorry, I was playing Splatoon 2 - Splatfest representing Team Chick-Chicken >,>
> 
> But ANYWAY! Thank you for reading the story this far! I hope you've enjoyed this latest update. I've been waiting a while to put out this Sasuke POV, so I'm excited that I'm finally able to post it. As always, I really appreciate all the love and support, and some recent mild dislike for my story. It really lets me know how my story is coming across, and I love it. I can't wait to see what you guys will think after reading this chapter!
> 
> Next chapter should be up next Saturday! I hope you're all looking forward to it!
> 
> Until then xoxo


	9. Shitty Luck

_What the fuck just happened?_  

That was the question Naruto continued to ask himself as he mindlessly pulled Gaara out of the restaurant. He didn’t even know where they were going. He just wanted to get as far away as possible. So he pulled him around corners, and down empty streets until Gaara pulled back.

When Naruto felt the weight against his hand, he realized what he was doing and stopped. They ended up at a park. Naruto hadn’t turned to look at Gaara, and was instead looking down at himself. 

_What the fuck just happened?_

He couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

_What the fuck just happened?_

It was as if some type of demon took over his body.

_What the fuck just…_

“Naruto.” Gaara’s voice took him away from his thoughts.

Naruto finally turned to look at his date. Gaara was watching him with his eyes narrowed and his face twisted in concern and confusion.

“What happened in there?” Gaara spoke again and Naruto looked away. He felt embarrassed and ashamed. How could he tell Gaara what happened? He was still trying to figure that out for himself. 

Naruto shook his head and covered his mouth with his fingertips. He remembered the feeling of Sasuke’s lips against his and the electricity it sent through his body. His eyes moved to meet Gaara’s once again. 

The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of the redhead. His eyes told Gaara that he had no idea what he was doing. But, without giving it much thought, Naruto grabbed Gaara’s face and pulled him down for a kiss.

He could feel Gaara take in a breath, shocked by the sudden movement, but not displeased. Naruto turned his head and deepened the kiss.

Gaara braced himself, grabbing onto Naruto’s hip with one hand, while the other went to Naruto’s chin. He used his thumb to pull Naruto’s mouth open and slipped his tongue inside. 

The feeling of Gaara’s tongue in his mouth brought him to his senses. He placed his hands on Gaara’s chest and lightly pushed him back. They broke apart, both a bit flushed from their short kiss. 

“Sorry,” Naruto breathed out the word and looked away. He ran both of his hands through his hair and walked over to a bench he’d spotted underneath one of the light posts. 

Gaara followed him and they sat under the light in silence. For a moment, both of them needed to collect themselves.

Once it passed Gaara looked at Naruto, “That was the guy in the restaurant right; the married one you slept with?” 

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. 

Gaara tilted his head back to look up at the dark sky. Naruto went on to elaborate, “I saw him get up and I followed him into the bathroom.”

Gaara looked back over at him. He hadn’t expected Naruto to tell him that much. 

“We kissed.” Naruto wasn’t even sure why he was saying all of this.

Gaara nodded again, looking unaffected, “Is that why you kissed me?”

Naruto groaned and covered his eyes as he spoke, “Yes... No…. Ugh, I don’t really know. Maybe?” He uncovered his eyes and looked to Gaara. “I’m confusing myself.”

Gaara chuckled, “It’s alright.”

“No it’s not. I totally screwed up our date.” 

Gaara nodded, “You did.” He smirked and Naruto gave him a look full of skepticism and disbelief.

“Why are you so cool with all of this? Shouldn’t you be a little more upset? I mean, I just told you I kissed another guy.” He pointed out and Gaara shrugged easily.

“I already told you I’m not concerned, Naruto. We’re not in a relationship. You can kiss whoever you want.”

Naruto looked down at himself, trying to piece things together. “Okay,” he said slowly and nodded. He lifted his head when a thought came to mind, “But didn’t you turn down that job for my sake?”

Gaara chuckled this time, “The job in Tokyo offered to pay me more money. You weren’t a deciding factor. But,” Gaara looked up as he thought about his next words. “You were a bonus.”

Naruto nodded, feeling a bit better about his actions, though not completely free of guilt. He sighed and slumped against into the bench, “I seriously suck.” 

Gaara’s eyes widened slightly at the dejected proclamation, “Why are you beating yourself up so much?” Whatever was happening between them was nice, but it had only just started. It wasn’t incredibly heart breaking that this date wasn’t picture perfect. He didn’t understand why Naruto was so down on himself.

“There’s a lot that goes into it…” Naruto wasn’t sure if he wanted to go into more detail about what had happened between him and Sasuke. When Gaara nodded at his words, he figured he’d said enough. 

Naruto knew that ruining their date wasn’t the end of the world. He was upset for a number of reasons. Naruto was less concerned about how the date went, and more concerned about the way he reacted towards Sasuke being there. The fact that he couldn’t control himself in that moment was enough to make him uncomfortable. And then having done something like that when he knew Sasuke’s family was sitting out there…

Why wasn’t it possible to turn back time? If it were, he’d go back to the day he met Sasuke and say _“To hell with coffee!”_ Instead of getting that damn macchiato, he would’ve headed straight home after that shift. He would’ve went on ignorant and in bliss. But that wasn’t possible now, was it?

“Do you like him that much?”

Gaara’s words shook Naruto. _Like_ Sasuke? That wasn’t an option. At one point he’d wanted to consider Sasuke as a friend, but actually _liking_ him in the romantic sense was ridiculous. 

It seemed as though Naruto’s shocked expression gave Gaara the answer he needed because he didn’t allow Naruto to give him a verbal response. He instead continued in a matter-of-fact tone, “He’s the first guy you’ve been interested in since you broke it off with Neji, right? And you were with Neji for quite some time. Isn’t it natural that you’ve become so infatuated with him?” 

Naruto shook his head. “It’s not that simple. He’s married...” 

“And yet you followed him into the bathroom just now, when you saw him in the restaurant. You wanted to see him.” 

Naruto couldn’t deny that. He blushed again and looked away. 

Gaara shrugged again as he continued, “It seems to me that you’re afraid.” 

Naruto whipped his head back over to Gaara and glared, “Of course I’m afraid! He’s a total asshole. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself, and he’s proven that to me more than once. I’m an idiot for making something bigger than it is. Nothing’s gonna come out of this. Sakura was right…” He realized Gaara didn’t know what he was referring to. He looked down again. He just couldn’t seem to calm down.  

Gaara spoke again, his tone suggesting his confusion, “What does Sakura have to do with you and him?”  

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but didn’t know what to say right away, “Well...” He was right. She didn’t have anything to do with them. But at the same time, he couldn’t disregard what she’d said.

“Maybe you should just do what you want to do, and stop worrying about everyone else.”  

Naruto snorted at this and shook his head, “Waaaay easier said than done.” 

Gaara offered him a small chuckle and nodded, “In that, you are correct. But, Nobody said life was easy.”  

Naruto smiled. He bumped his shoulder with Gaara’s. “You’re a pretty wise guy.” 

Gaara did one of his nonexistent eyebrow lifts, something Naruto found to be both charming and humorous. “Is that sarcasm?” He joked and Naruto laughed.

“Take it as you want.” Naruto jumped up and stretched his arms above his head. He was tired of talking about this. At a certain point, the dead horse could only be beaten so many times. 

“Should I walk you home?” Gaara asked from his place on the bench. 

Naruto shook his head. “I’m actually gonna hop on the train and head over to my dad’s place.”  

Gaara nodded, then got up to stand beside Naruto.  

“Well, if anything else, I hope we can still be friends. I don’t know too many people in Tokyo, so I’m counting on you.” 

Naruto grinned and pushed his fist against Gaara’s chest. 

“Duh, I still haven’t kicked your ass in Ninja Tournament.” Naruto pulled his hand away and walked ahead in the direction of the trains. Gaara followed him, figuring he would accompany him there, and then be on his own way.  

Gaara shook his head, “You keep saying that, but I won’t believe it until I see it.” 

Naruto chuckled, “Oh you’ll see.”

 

* * *

 

Naruto got to his family home a little over an hour later.

Minato was laying on the couch watching television when he entered. He looked over the couch at his son and waved. “Hey. I wasn’t expecting you tonight, kiddo.”

Naruto kicked his shoes off, before he went over to the couch to join his father. Minato sat up to make room for him and turned to give Naruto his full attention. He could tell his son had something he wanted to get off his chest. 

After a moment of silence, Minato spoke first, “What’s up?”

His words triggered a sigh from Naruto. His body hunched and he sunk deeper into the worn couch. “My date didn’t go so well.” Naruto admitted. Even though Gaara was surprisingly easy going about the whole thing, Naruto still felt a good amount of shame towards his behavior.

Why did he follow Sasuke into the bathroom? 

At the time it felt like the wrong thing to do, but also, it felt inevitable. It was as if Sasuke had pulled him along on a string. And then in the bathroom, when they kissed, it made his knees feel weak. Just thinking about it creeped him out a bit.

Chalking it all up to his inability to control himself was getting old. He was being a coward. He knew that following Sasuke the way he did, and every thing he’d done before that was a choice he’d consciously made. Nobody forced him to do any of it. It just turned out that each choice he’d made seemed like the wrong one.

He leaned his head on his dad’s shoulder and stared listlessly at the flashing television screen.

Minato didn’t move or question the action. He figured if Naruto didn’t want to talk about it, that was fine. Sometimes it was best to silently comfort his son, than to pry into his personal life. So for now, he just sat there welcoming Naruto’s contact, and trying his best to show him that he was there, no matter what was troubling him.

It wasn’t until the program on the screen ended that Minato looked over at his son, whom he’d assumed had fallen asleep. But in fact, Naruto was still staring at the screen looking both worried and confused.

“Hey,” Minato shifted the shoulder Naruto had his head on to get his attention.

“Hm?” Naruto said, his voice sounding groggy.

“You should get some sleep,” he suggested. Naruto agreed, but a part of him just wanted to stay there and feel bad about himself all night.

But he knew that wouldn’t get him anywhere. 

So he lifted himself up into a sitting position, then pushed off of the couch. He stretched, realizing for the first time that the muscles in his back ached. Then, before heading up the stairs to his room, he turned to his dad and gave him a sad smile. “Thanks,” he said and Minato gave him a gentle smile in return.

After that, he shuffled up to his room and sat on his old bed in the darkness. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and stared at the screen as it lit up. He sat there for a while looking at his lock screen. For a moment he wished he’d never deleted Sasuke’s number. And when that thought came to mind he grit his teeth and tossed his phone to the side.

How stupid. 

What would he even say to him if he did have his number? 

_“Why did you kiss me like that?”_

_“Why don’t you seem to care about your family?”_

_“Why am I always thinking about you?”_

_“Do you think about me this way? Or am I insane?”_

Honestly, what the hell was wrong with him?

He thought about Gaara’s words:

_"Maybe you should just do what you want, and stop worrying about everyone else.”_

“What do I want?” Naruto whispered.

He turned over in his bed. The sensation of wanting to cry was strong. But, he refused. Instead, he stayed in his curled up position until his mind drifted off into sleep. 

 

* * *

 

When morning came, Naruto woke up from the sound of Minato’s voice calling out to him.

“Naruto! Get up. We have company.”

“Compa—“ A yawn stopped Naruto from completing his thought. He turned over and squinted his eyes up at his father. “What?” He mumbled as he was still trying to grasp at the strings of reality. 

Minato pulled the comforter off of Naruto’s body and tossed it onto the floor. Naruto jumped and hugged his arms around his cold and exposed body. 

“Come on, get up and get clean.” Minato said. Naruto noted that his voice sounded lighter than usual. He could tell his dad was full of excitement and nerves.

Naruto blinked the sleep out of his eyes and was finally able to focus his vision on his father. The older man was in the process of buttoning up his plaid shirt over unzipped blue jeans. 

Now fully conscious, Naruto asked again, “Wait what?” He sat up and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. “What’s happening, now?” 

Minato smiled at his sleepy son and ruffled his messy bed hair.  

Naruto groaned and swatted at his father’s hand. 

Minato grinned and patted Naruto’s cheek for good measure, “Come on sleepy head. Get in the shower. I want you to meet someone.”  

After Naruto nodded, Minato left the room. 

With his father gone, he was tempted to pull his comforter back up and resume his pleasant sleep. But his father was rarely this enthusiastic, so he forced himself to stay alert. 

He got up from the bed and dragged his feet over to his old dresser. He pulled out a pair of boxers, skinny jeans and an orange t-shirt. He tossed the outfit onto the bed, and then left the room towards the bathroom. 

He showered briefly, then brushed his teeth and fixed his hair.  

With his towel tightly drawn around his waste, he faintly heard voices in the kitchen and wondered what kind of company they had.  

He scrunched his eyebrows at the female voice he’d heard and swore he’d heard it somewhere before. But, it was too cold to stand in the hallway with just a towel on, so he scurried to his room to quickly throw on his clothes.  

Fully, dressed, he headed downstairs. On his way, he paused when he’d overheard the conversation going on in his living room. 

He could hear the woman’s voice again, “What the fuck is so bad about staying an extra minute or so? You’ve been acting weird since we got here. Do you know something?” 

And then another voice spoke up that was undeniably recognizable, “I’m just ready to go.”

Naruto slowed as he continued down the stairs. His eyes grew wide when he saw the dark-haired man arguing with a woman in the middle of his living room.

Naruto choked. And suddenly, he could feel himself sweating. 

Why was Sasuke in his house? Why was his wife in his house? Why were they arguing in the middle of his living room? What the actual FUCK was going on?! 

“Sasuke?” He said the name before he realized it was coming out of his mouth. 

When Sasuke turned and their eyes locked, the air around them became incredibly dense. 

He swallowed before he was able to speak again. “What are you doing here?” 

Sasuke’s wife was looking between the two of them. Naruto could only imagine what types of ideas were going on in the woman’s head.

“Wait a minute. Do you two know each other?” 

Sasuke, “No.” 

Naruto, “Yes.” 

They glared at each other. 

What ever happened to _“My wife knows I sleep around?”_ This bastard. Was he really lying that time?

“Why are you here?” Naruto asked again, seething this time. His shock was quickly tuning into anger. Was it because Sasuke was giving him that audacious look, or because he had just denied knowing him to his wife; Naruto didn’t know.  

“Oh, you’re done getting dressed.” Minato easily broke the tension, likely because he was unaware of the change in atmosphere. He smiled warmly at Naruto as he approached him. Naruto was still standing on the stairs when he looked down at his father. Minato grabbed his arm and lightly tugged him deeper into the living room.  

Naruto peeked at Sasuke again, still upset and completely bewildered by his presence in his home.  

Minato didn’t pay his son any mind as he led him over to Sasuke’s wife, another person whom he was utterly shocked and confused to see on his home. 

The woman crossed her arms over her chest, peering through narrowed eyes at Naruto. She was completely suspicious of him.  

“This is my son, Naruto.” Minato began, motioning toward Naruto.  

Karin disregarded Minato’s introduction and turned to Sasuke, “So you’ve met before?” Sasuke looked away and shrugs. She looked to Naruto. “I’ve met you. In Kyushu, right?”

Naruto suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. He had no idea why he was standing face to face with Sasuke’s wife. And being in front of her now felt especially horrendous after his actions the previous night. He was forced to think about what they did in the restroom of that restaurant while Sasuke’s family was sitting out there. Did she find out about last night and all the other times? Did Sasuke tell her something? Was she here to confront him? And if so, why the hell was his dad looking so happy about all of this? Was this the fucking Twilight Zone?

Naruto gulped down the lump that was forming in his throat. He gave the woman a shaky nod as he spoke in an equally wavering voice; “Y-yeah, we met at the onsen.” he slowly turned to his father. “What’s going on, dad?” He wanted to scream. Why were they here? Why wasn’t anyone answering that question? And yet, things were just too weird. He knew that the only way to get through this type of situation was to be calm and act as normal as possible. 

“Well,” Minato scratched his cheek as he realized the situation was a bit heavy. “This is Karin. She came here today to talk to me. Uhm,” Minato hesitated, he looked as though he was thinking about how he wanted to explain things. He moved his hand to scratch the back of his head as he continued, “Well… she’s actually your mother’s sister.”  

Naruto’s eyes widened so much that they threatened to pop out of their sockets. His mouth hung open as he took in the information. 

She was his mother’s sister? 

Wouldn’t that make her his aunt? 

No way. 

This woman was his aunt? 

That’s impossible. His mom didn’t have any siblings. In fact, he didn’t know anyone on that side of the family. She’d never mentioned anyone. His mother was such a people person, and so family oriented, he doubted she’d hide something so big from him. Right?

And this woman just couldn’t be related to him. She’s Sasuke’s wife. Sasuke’s wife can’t be his aunt. That type of thing just didn’t seem possible. Out of all the people in Japan that he could screw, one of them couldn’t possibly be married to his mother’s sister.  

But, if it were true...

Naruto slowly turned his head to face Sasuke. The look in those dark eyes told him Sasuke knew exactly what he was thinking.  

Naruto’s eyebrows scrunched. 

If it were true, that means that Sasuke is technically his uncle.  

Naruto felt a strong pull of dread run through his body. He whipped his head to his father again who had been in the middle of talking about God knows what. 

“... for the time being. I know it’s a lot to take in, but I wanted to make sure you had a chance to meet someone from your mom’s side of the family.” 

Naruto tried to smile, but it was incredibly hard. 

Karin shook her head, also having been lost in her own thoughts and speculations. “First off, how do you two know each other?” She was still on that.

Her eyes darted from Sasuke to Naruto, opening up the floor for either of them to answer. For the first time, Minato looked confused. It was as if he was just realizing the tension growing in the room.

“You two know each other?” Minato asked, pointing between them as Karin did with her eyes.

Naruto looked at his dad, then at Karin and last at Sasuke who was incredibly hard to read.

Given the circumstances, would it be better to hide the truth? Nobody would want to know that their nephew was having sex with their husband. Could that be why Sasuke had initially lied about them knowing each other? Rather than him lying because he had slept with a man behind her back, but that the man he’d slept with was her newfound relative.

It made sense to Naruto, but he wasn’t sure if going along with that was the best course of action. And yet, coming clean in front of this intimidating woman and his father also sounded like an awful idea.

“Well?” Karin snapped. She looked like she was getting fed up. Admittedly he’d taken a long time to decide on an answer.

A long sigh from Sasuke drew his attention. He also looked fed up, and opened his mouth, presumably to come clean. “We met a few times…” Sasuke began, and Naruto finished for him before he had the chance. 

“I go to the coffee shop in his office building. I spilled my coffee on him once.” Naruto said quickly. He tried to look easy going and amused as he told the story, even though he was so nervous that his palms were now sweating. And then, as the lies started spilling from his lips, he felt a bit sick; “I still haven’t paid him back for the damage. I was just surprised to see you both here. But I had no idea my mom had a sister. That’s so cool.” If he were a lesser man, he’d applaud himself. 

Karin’s tensed shoulders relaxed at this. She looked at Sasuke, then to Naruto and smiled. “Oh, that’s so stupid. He doesn’t need to be paid back. He’s got too much money to begin with.” She waved and dismissed Naruto’s story.

Naruto chuckled and shrugged, again trying his best to seem nonchalant. By now Minato was giving him a curious look, finally noting his son’s bizarre behavior. Naruto peeked over at Sasuke next and was taken back by the shock on the usually stoic man’s face.

Karin, now ignorant to their silent interaction, approached Naruto and pulled her arm around his waste. He turned to her, surprised by the sudden contact and how strong this woman’s grip was.

“Well isn’t that something? And I’ve got such a handsome nephew too.” She rubbed his side and gave it a few firm slaps before letting go. “I’m happy that I got to meet you. But, Sasuke’s getting grumpy so we’re about to leave.” She nodded her head back towards Sasuke, who was now carelessly looking away. “I’m having a dinner party next Saturday though, you two should come.”

At the sound of Karin’s suggestion Sasuke snapped his head back over to them. Naruto subconsciously looked to Sasuke in this moment. Sasuke was glaring at him, obviously attempting to silently convey to Naruto that he should refuse.

But wouldn’t that be weird if he did?

“That sounds fun,” Minato said, and then looked to Naruto. “Do you want to go?” He knew there was something going on with Naruto, and possibly with this Sasuke character. So, he wanted to make sure Naruto knew that whether they went or not was his choice.

Naruto looked to his dad for answers, and when he didn’t get any he looked back at Karin with a weakened resolve. “Uh, yeah. I’ll go. It does sound fun.” He knew he didn’t sound sure of himself, and when he saw the dark glare Sasuke sent his way it only made him feel worse about his decision.

“Great!” Karin grinned and clapped her hands together. “You can officially meet my daughter. Oh, and feel free to invite a friend. The more the merrier.”

“Karin,” Sasuke warned. Naruto understood where Sasuke was coming from. He clearly wanted to get out of this house as soon as possible. Karin simply rolled her eyes at his impatience. 

“Oh, come on. You can wait in the car if you’re in such a hurry.”

Sasuke made a face at her tone then briskly turned towards the door. “Whatever,” he grumbled and just like that, he walked out.

Naruto watched him go, feeling torn between keeping up this act, and spilling the beans. What was he thinking lying to her in the first place? He could tell things were only going to get more complicated for them. And, if Naruto was being honest, he wasn’t the best liar. Who knows how long he’ll last like this.

But seeing Karin’s annoyed face as she watched her husband go, Naruto couldn’t come up with the courage to come clean.

“Don’t mind him,” she said and rolled her eyes to further emphasize her irritation. “He’s super unfriendly like… all the time. Don’t take it personal.” 

Even though it couldn’t be anything but personal in Naruto’s mind, he nodded along with his father.

“It’s okay. I’m sure he’s a busy man,” Minato said, giving Karin one of his kind smiles and she can’t help but return it. 

“You just love making excuses for people, don’t you?” She said in a voice full of humor. It seemed like she was referring to something they’d spoken about before, and Naruto wasn’t quite able to follow.

Minato scratched the back of his head and shrugged, still smiling at her, “Yeah, I suppose I like to see the good in things.”

Karin nodded, looking peaceful as she spoke again, “I guess that’s why my sister fell for you.” She looked to Naruto then, “Well, it was nice meeting you both.” She waved and walked towards the door where Sasuke had disappeared. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing you guys Saturday. Don’t be late!” She pointed at them and playfully glared, before she exited the house.

They both waved her off until the door closed behind her. 

Once she was gone they just stood there in the living room alone. A few seconds passed before Minato turned to Naruto smiling knowingly as he spoke, “Okay, so how do you really know him?” 

Naruto blushed, “Who?” He knew his dad was referring to Sasuke, but for some reason, he had the nerve to feign innocence. 

Minato laughed at this and shook his head. He pointed at the door, “Mr. Dark and Handsome.” 

Naruto laughed in return, “Please don’t ever say that again.” He turned away after that, and walked over to the couch. As soon as he was close enough, he plopped down and turned on the television. Minato sat beside him and nudged him with his elbow.  

“So?” 

Naruto side-eyed him, wondering if his dad had been hanging around Sakura lately. 

“ _So_ nothing. I met him, spilled my coffee on him, and totally ruined his shirt. End of story.” Then went home with him the next day, had sex with him, slept in his bed, kissed him, called him and almost got off to his voice, went over to his home to have sex again, followed him into a restaurant bathroom and…

“You and I both know that’s a lie,” Minato said with a frown. 

Of course Naruto knew that. He didn’t know why, but he felt uncomfortable telling his dad that he’d slept with Sasuke, or that he had these strange feelings for the egotistical bastard that he was still trying to sort out and deal with. Especially after meeting his wife who turned out to be his aunt for crying out loud. It seemed even worse now that he was aware of his actions and feelings. And looking back, he wondered if he had originally known that Karin was his aunt, if that would change the way he had felt up until now. The fact that, that answer wasn’t as clear as it should be was enough to make him feel like a guilty pile a shit.  

But this was his dad. He knew he wouldn’t be burned at the stake if he told the truth. What was there to be afraid of?   

Naruto sighed, “Fine I lied.” He wasn’t quite willing to go further than that just yet. 

“Ooookaaay?” Minato nodded. He sure had a stubborn son; a trait he’d definitely gotten from his mother. 

Naruto huffed out another sigh. He looked down at his shirt and fiddled with the hem of the bright orange fabric. 

When he realized his dad wasn’t going to give up that easily, he reluctantly continued, “And I sort of slept with him.” The words came out in a small mumble. Minato had to take a second to register them before he fully understood what he’d said.  

When he did, his eyes widened and he leaned back. “You did what?”  

“Well I didn’t know he was married when we did it. And I sure as hell didn’t know his wife was my aunt.” And he was still trying to wrap his head around that one.  

Minato made a sound that was a cross between a laugh and a scoff. “Well I’m sure you didn’t,” he said and shook his head. “Wow, that’s one hell of a coincidence.” 

“You’re telling me,” Naruto nodded. 

“Do you want to back out of that dinner party?” 

Naruto looked up at his father, “What?”

Minato shrugged, “Well it must have been awkward for you seeing him here.” 

Naruto nodded, “Yeah.” He looked away again; this time at the TV, which he’d forgot was on. The sound was low and it was tuned to some program about catching rare fish. 

Even though them being there had been awkward for him, underneath it all, Naruto was excited to meet someone from his mom’s side of the family. Being in the room with Karin now, meeting her for the second time, there were things about her that reminding him so much of his mother. He sensed that he father felt the same way. Should he let what was happening between him and Sasuke prevent him from getting to know her? Was all of that worth it?

“Well?” His father said after a moment of Naruto’s silence. 

Naruto looked back at him, “I want to go.” 

Minato nodded and slapped his thighs, “Then it’s settled.” He got up from the couch and was about to walk back into the kitchen when he stopped and turned towards his son once more. “Oh and by the way,” he said and sat a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. 

Naruto looked back and up at his father who was staring down at him with a serious expression. 

“I’m not going to tell you what to do with your life, Naruto. But, sleeping with a married man will have its consequences.” 

Naruto looked away and nodded sullenly. He felt a bit hurt by the words, but it was hard to pin point where this tight feeling in his chest was coming from. He knew what he’d done was wrong and that fact that he was, in a sense, pining after Sasuke was even worse. Hearing it come from his father only added weight to a situation that was already too heavy to begin with.  

He heard his father move closer, and then felt large hand on his head. Minato’s voice was soft as he spoke again, “I’m not saying you’re in the wrong Naruto. I just want you to be careful, okay?” 

Naruto nodded, instantly feeling a little better.  

Minato took his hand from Naruto head and then made his way into the kitchen.  

Naruto pulled out his phone once he was alone and opened up a new message to Sakura. 

**Can you come over?**

It took a while for Sakura to respond. He figured she must be at the hospital working.  

A half hour through a cartoon he’d been watching he felt his forgotten phone buzz in his pocket. 

He slipped it out and read the incoming messages. 

**Sakura: What happened?**

**...**

**Sakura: Is this about your date last night**?

**...**

**Sakura: DID IT GO WELL?**

**...**

**Sakura: I can’t come over. I’m working.**

**…**

**Sakura: Hold on.**

And so he did. He sat his phone aside and found the television remote sitting on the other couch cushion. He lifted it up and began flipping through channels until he landed on one where they were playing re-runs of some old sitcom.

Almost an hour later his phone buzzed again. He lifted it up and checked the caller ID. It was Sakura. 

He answered, “Hello?” 

“You okay?” Sakura came over the receiver. He could also hear a lot of movement and beeping where she was. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was hiding in some hospital closet so that she could call him in between her shift. 

“I’m fine,” he rubbed his eyebrow as he said this. He wasn’t sure if he even believed that. 

“You don’t sound fine,” Sakura said, her voice was filled with fake humor. Underneath it, he could tell she was worrying.

“Last night didn’t go too well.” She probably already knew that by now, but he’d said it just to be clear. He cut straight to the point, knowing that Sakura likely didn’t have much time for chit chatting. “Sasuke was at the restaurant we went to with his family.”

She gasped, “No fucking way. Does he just appear out of thin fucking air?” 

Naruto laughed at this and shook his head, “Just shitty luck, I think.”

“Okay, okay, so then what happened? Did he do anything?” When she asked this, Naruto groaned and covered his eyes with his hands. He was feeling embarrassed again.

As he continued telling Sakura about the previous night: the kiss with Sasuke and the kiss with Gaara, he was surprised his bubble-gum haired friend didn’t chew him out again. She just listened, making small gasping noises and “Mhm” sounds as he went on. It wasn’t until he told her about Karin that she yelled out, “GET THE FUCK OUT!” He winced at the way her high-pitched voice pierced his eardrum.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and groaned, “Jesus Sakura.” 

“Sorry! I mean, what did you expect? Holy shit! That’s insane. You’re _related_ to his wife? Of all the men in Tokyo…” 

Naruto placed the phone back to his ear and scoffed, “You’re telling me.”

“I’m over here freaking the fuck out. That’s crazy.”

“I know,” Naruto rubbed his fingers over his tired eyes. “She invited my dad and me to some dinner on Saturday.” 

Sakura went quiet after this.

He would’ve thought the call was dropped if he didn’t still hear the noise in the background.

“Sakura?” He asked, sounding cautious.

“You’re not going, are you?”

Naruto sunk into the couch and groaned once again. He rolled on his stomach and spoke against the couch cushion with a muffled voice. “How was I supposed to say no?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Like this… FUCK. NO! Naruto, that is such a bad idea,” she whined out the last of her words. Naruto knew she was right. But at the same time…

“She’s still my aunt, Sakura. She’s still my mom’s sister…” He reasoned.

Again Sakura went quiet on her end. She was likely processing what he’d told her.

“Uhm…” Naruto turned his head so that he could speak clearly. “Well, I called you, because I wanted to see if you’d come with me.”

“What? To the dinner?”

“Yeah…” He didn’t know why he felt nervous. He didn’t know whom else he could ask, and he definitely didn’t want to go with just his dad if he could avoid it. Minato was too damn nice. If Naruto needed to make a hasty escape at some point, his father wouldn’t make it easy.

“What day? Saturday?”

Naruto squirmed, “Yeah…” He knew that Sakura’s workload was getting increasingly heavy, so he wasn’t sure if she’d be able to. 

“Sure,” When he heard her response, Naruto let out a sigh of relief. “Just let me know what time.” She likely had to readjust her schedule to make it work. It was selfish of him, but he couldn’t help feeling better knowing that she would be there. 

“Thanks."

“No biggie. I’ve got to go now though. Text me later!” And with that, she hung up. He threw his phone onto the ground and turned his face back into the cushion.

It was only three in the afternoon and he was already completely exhausted.

 

* * *

 

At around 8pm, Naruto woke up. He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep on the couch. He could smell food cooking in the kitchen, and it caused his stomach to turn.

He got up from his lying position, and put aside the blanket his father likely draped over him in the middle of his slumber. He stretched his arms over his head and popped his bones back into place. His body didn’t feel too good, most likely due to the unusual amount of sleep he’d gotten in the last twenty-four hours.

With a sigh, Naruto grabbed his forgotten phone from off of the floor and went into the kitchen where he smelled pasta sauce stewing. Minato was standing in front of the stove stirring the delicious concoction, and sprinkling an odd assortment of seasonings into the mix.

This was rare, his dad was a great cook, but he rarely did after his mother passed. Naruto smiled at the sight before him. He could probably thank Karin for that. Even though he was still battling with the idea that he was related to Sasuke’s wife, Minato was likely thrilled that a piece of his late wife had found their way into their lives. It almost made Naruto forget about his problems, and all the terrible shit that could come from his previous actions. It almost made him forget all of that and think about the good that could come from this, even if it was so heavily overshadowed by all of the bad.

Minato seemed to sense his presence. He turned and gave Naruto a welcoming smile. His dull blue eyes even looked a bit brighter.

“Hey, you hungry?” Minato asked and Naruto shrugged.

“Sorta,” he took a seat at the table. Minato turned back and continued his cooking. Naruto simply watched, amazed by his father’s good mood.

His phone buzzed, interrupting his thoughts about his joyous father. He lifted up the device to check the notification. It was a text.

The sight caused him to suck in a sharp breath.

It was a text from that number that he’d deleted not too long ago. Even though he hadn’t memorized it, there was no doubt about who it was.

It simply read:

 **We need to talk.** **Meet me at my place.**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! I'm back with a new update, sort of on time but not really. Thank you all for reading this far. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm so, so excited to see what you all think~ 
> 
> Next update will be next Saturday! I hope you're all looking forward to it! Until then~


	10. What Now?

**_We need to talk._ ** _**Meet me at my place.**_

Two hours later and an awkward excuse to his father after reading that message, Naruto was standing in front of the towering gold building where he knew Sasuke was upstairs in his condo sipping that bitter wine he liked.

He should have just ignored that message. But, at this point he wasn’t surprised that he’d ran with it like a moron. After all that had happened in the last 24hrs, Naruto knew better, but here he was, walking back and forth in front of the building wondering if he should just go back to his place and shovel down whatever leftover ramen was in his fridge.

Just imagining what sort of conversation they’d be having made Naruto feel sweaty. On top of that, he hadn’t fully realized that pacing around in front of this building at nearly midnight, looking anxious was bound to raise suspicions. 

“Excuse me?”

Naruto whipped around and stood with his back straight to face the weary doorman. It was a little irritating that this man was looking at him so suspiciously, as if he was some street rat who’d gotten lost, seeing as Naruto clearly recognized the man from the past three times he’d been in and out of Sasuke’s place.

“Uh…” Naruto’s eyes shifted around before they met the doorman’s once again. “Hey, what’s up?” Naruto grinned, trying to play it cool.

“Do you have business here?” The man asked in a voice that was both formal and accusatory.

Naruto scratched his head and looked up at the building. “Yeah, I’m just here…” He indicated the space he was standing in with a lazy wave of his hand. “I’m meeting someone and I’m a little nervous so…” Naruto said honestly with an awkward smile. 

“Well you can’t just stand here, sir. This is a private building and…” The doorman was starting to say, but Naruto quickly interjected.

“Oh, sorry! I’ll just go up then.” Naruto started to walk forward, but the man stopped him with a firm hand on his chest. Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the glare the man was now giving him.

“Actually, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Naruto’s mouth gapped open for a moment, before it snapped shut. He returned the man’s glare with an equally heated one of his own. “Why?”

“Like I said, this is a private building.”

“Yeah, and I’m meeting someone who lives here.” 

“ _Right_ …” The way the man dragged out that word only served to prick at Naruto’s nerves.

“Dude, I’ve seen you out here several times. You’ve seen me go in there. What the hell’s your problem?”

The man leaned closer, placing his hands arrogantly on his hips as he did so. “Yeah, I’ve seen you here, and that type of business doesn’t look good on our building.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. He leaned back as he parroted the man, “Business?” 

The man sneered and nodded, “I know your _kind_. You’re lucky I don’t call the police on you.”

“Wait...” Naruto shook his head, trying to comprehend what this guy was accusing him of doing. “What the fuck.” _Kind? What the hell is he talking about?_

“Now,” The man straightened up and brushed off his well-tailored suit, as if being so close to Naruto had affected its quality. “Please leave. I don’t want to cause a scene for our residents, but I will call the police.”

“For what? I’m meeting someone. What’s the big deal?” Naruto was getting fed up. What the hell was this guy even on about, anyway?

“Yes, well you’ll have to reschedule. Maybe try the corner by the Tokyo Embassy Suites. You’ll get better business that way.” With that, the doorman turned his nose up to Naruto before turning his back and walking to resume his post by the revolving doors.

What the doorman was insinuating finally hit him. Naruto balled his fists by his sides and grit his teeth. With little patience left to hold him back, Naruto marched up to the man at full speed.

Before he could react to the blonde’s quick movements, it was too late.

Naruto fisted the doorman’s collar in a tight, painful grip and pushed up against him. Unable to hold back, he screamed, “YOU REALLY THINK I’M HERE TO FUCK SOME DUDE FOR MONEY? ARE YOU INSANE?”

The doorman stammered. He reached up to pull himself out of Naruto’s grip, but it was too strong. He looked like he was starting to panic, and nobody would blame him when he was staring at the amount of fury in Naruto’s eyes.

Naruto wrung the man by the collar a few times as he continued his rant. “What the hell do I look like to you, huh? I told you I’m just here to see someone! Is that so hard to believe?!” Naruto seethed after that. He realized maybe he was taking things a little too far, but he was fed up with this day. The last thing he needed after ending a relationship with Mr. Perfect, realizing he has an unhealthy obsession with the cheating bastard he’d slept with, AND finding out that that cheating bastard’s wife is also his deceased mother’s sister, was to be accused of being a prostitute by some stuck up asshole.

“L-look, I’m sorry! You can go up!” 

Naruto opened his mouth to give the man more of a piece of his mind, when he was interrupted.

“Naruto-san?”

Naruto turned his head away from the terrified man in his grip to see Sai standing a few feet away with a leather garment bag slung over his arm. Naruto released the man and ignored the way he coughed dramatically in favor of addressing Sasuke’s servant-butler-guy. 

“Hey, you’re here too.” Naruto wasn’t sure what else to say after being caught practically choking the doorman. 

“Yes,” Sai raised the heavy black bag as he continued; “I’m dropping off some suits for Uchiha-sama.” He rested the bag in his arms once again, and then looked to the doorman who was still figuring out how to breathe again. After a moment he looked back at Naruto who had a smile on that even Sai felt was a bit awkward. 

“Well,” Naruto motioned towards the door, “After you.”

 

* * *

 

The elevator ride up was thankfully quiet. Naruto was noticeably fidgeting in the corner, yet Sai chose not to point out his obvious state of duress. Naruto was grateful. His mind was swirling with a mixture of thoughts and assumptions of the conversation he was about to walk into. He realized as he rode up that it had been a while since he’d been to this place, and that revelation made him feel all the more anxious.

The resonating “ding” that sounded from the top of the elevator pulled Naruto out of his thoughts. They were on Sasuke’s floor, and Sai stepped aside to let him out first, likely out of habit. Naruto did, though he couldn’t help his hesitation.

Sai smiled at him nonetheless, and followed after Naruto down the hall, all the way to Sasuke’s door.

Once there, Naruto stepped aside and allowed Sai to enter the passcode. When the door was opened, Sai once again stepped aside to allow Naruto to enter first. He did, and he wiped his palms against his jeans as he walked forward when he noticed they’d gotten a bit sweaty during his wait.

The main room was dark; the only light that was turned on was in the kitchen. Sasuke was there, but his back was turned towards them. Naruto absently kicked his shoes off, while Sai simply slipped into the closet by the door. He placed the garment bag inside, turned to them, bowed and then was gone just like that. Sasuke still hadn’t turned to address him, or acknowledge that Sai had just come in and out all in the same minute.

Naruto cleared his throat. His heart was pounding, but he wouldn’t allow it to show, even if he could almost hear it’s incessant beating. 

At the sound, Sasuke finally turned to Naruto. He was predictably holding a glass of red wine in one hand, while the other was shoved into the pocket of his designer pants. In this new position, Naruto could see that all the buttons of his dark dress shirt were undone, and the tie he wore was simple draped over his shoulders. He looked just as devilishly handsome as Naruto feared. He hated the heat that pooled at this bottom of his gut as his eyes took time to admire Sasuke’s outlined muscles under the dim light. 

Sasuke didn’t mind the admiration Naruto was giving him, and even allowed a moment for Naruto to shamefully drag his eyes up his chest as he took another long sip of the dark red liquid.

When Naruto’s eyes moved up to lock with Sasuke’s dark, calculating ones, he finally snapped out of his reverie and cleared his throat once again.

“You asked me to come.” Naruto said and Sasuke nodded.

“I know,” his tone was almost belittling. Naruto did his best to ignore it.

“You gonna tell me to stay away from your wife? Don't want her knowing any of your dirty secrets?" 

Sasuke scoffed at that. It almost sounded like a chuckle. His dark eyes raked over Naruto, mimicking the way Naruto ate up his appearance just moments ago. He took another long gulp of the wine as he did so, and then turned away to place it on the counter behind him. He left the kitchen after that, stalking towards Naruto like a predator out in the wild. Naruto subconsciously lifted his arms and hugged them around his torso. It felt as if Sasuke’s eyes were stripping him naked, and it was both exhilarating and frightening.

Naruto allowed Sasuke to walk up to him until they were only inches apart. He felt like he needed to stand his ground. Even as Sasuke’s eyes glared down at him in a mixture of anger and lust, he refused to look away, or even take a step back. Instead he glared back at him, acknowledging the silent battle Sasuke had waged between them. 

For a while they just stared at each other. There were so many things going on in Naruto’s mind, he couldn’t figure out how to piece them together. All he knew for sure was that for the past couple months, this man before him was in the center of it all, and it pissed him off. He was pissed because for some reason, even now, all he wanted to do was grab the bastard by his handsome face and crush their lips together. 

He wanted it so bad that he didn’t even realize when he’d went ahead and done it. Not until Sasuke’s tongue was pressing against his lips, coaxing them open and teasing the inside of Naruto’s mouth. His arms that were wrapped around him were now all over Sasuke. His hands found their way to Sasuke’s hair, and he pulled on it harshly. Sasuke hissed and bit down especially hard on Naruto’s bottom lip. They both tasted a bit of blood, but neither made an attempt to acknowledge it. Instead, they pulled and ripped at each other’s clothing.

Somehow they’d gotten each other naked by the time they made it to the couch. Everything was moving so fast. Naruto was on his back when he realized his state of undress. Sasuke was hovering over him with a dark, almost deranged look in his eyes. Neither said a word the whole time. The noise of their angry bites, loud and wet kisses filled the room. Naruto could tell he would be bruised all over by the time this was done, and would be surprised if Sasuke left this encounter unscathed. They grabbed at each other so tightly it forced painful moans from each other’s mouths. 

There was so much heat around them. Naruto could feel it coursing through his body, inside and out. He felt delirious. He was angry and sad, and yet incredibly turned on by the body on top of his.

They were melded together so close. Their bodies were slick with sweat as their erections slid together, making them both cry out. Sasuke reached between them and grabbed Naruto’s thigh. He lifted it, and pushed harder against the tanned body underneath him. Naruto groaned and turned his face away. In a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure he threw his arm over his eyes as he allowed Sasuke to feel all over him. At that moment Sasuke dipped down and bit at Naruto’s neck, much more tenderly than he did moments ago when their rutting session seemed more like a battle than anything else. He released the skin from between his teeth, and then began placing small licks and kisses along the bruise. The action made Naruto’s heart swell, and he tried not to think about it. 

He finally let his arm fall to his side, revealing his crystal blue eyes that were clouded with lust and pent up sexual frustration. He bit his lip when he felt his body tense up from the relentless friction Sasuke was giving to his lower half. He wrapped one of his legs around Sasuke’s hips and pulled the dark haired man down for another kiss, this time, a lot less painful and bruising. This time, he let his lips slowly mold over Sasuke’s. They were both out of breath by now, and still out of their minds. Had Naruto been in the right frame of mind he would have realized that they likely resembled a pair of inexperienced teens the way they fumbled together to find some sort of release. 

And when it came, it was as if it was their first time all over again. It hit them both so fast that Naruto could swear he’d blacked out for a split second. They shuddered and moaned against each other, not caring that the mixture of fluids between them was effectively ruining the leather couch beneath them. 

For a moment, they both needed time to collect themselves. Naruto rubbed a hand over his face, and left it over his eyes as the shame and embarrassment crept back in.

Sasuke pulled away seconds later. He sat up and stared down at himself, lost and confused by his rash actions. Even he hadn’t expected himself to do something so hasty and juvenile.

Naruto knew he had just made another big mistake. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since he found out this man was technically his uncle. He hadn’t planned on doing anything like this with Sasuke again, and yet as soon as he’d been given the chance, he’d taken it. Sakura was right; he was an idiot.

He felt Sasuke get up from the couch, as the warmth of his presence went along with him. He didn’t bother uncovering his eyes as he heard the lights switch on, the water run, or the sound of Sasuke coming towards him again. It wasn’t until he felt something soft hit his face that he bothered to look up.

He used the hand that covered his face to pull the fabric back and glare at Sasuke, who was cleaned off and standing before him in only his boxer briefs. Naruto looked down and noticed that Sasuke had thrown him a small towel. He sat up and used it to clean the fluids from his stomach, then absently tossed it on the floor.

Sasuke all but sneered at him before he spoke. “Get out.”

Naruto’s eyes widened almost comically. His mouth hung open at the audacity in Sasuke’s tone.

“What?” Naruto sounded breathless, as if he’d been punched. Sasuke almost turned away, but stopped to glare down at him. 

“Did your hearing go bad?” His tone was void of any teasing, and the eyes he pinned Naruto with were cold and unfeeling.

Naruto chose to disregard everything and stood in all his nudity. “You have got to be kidding me.” The words came out as more of a hiss than anything. “Who the hell do you think you are?

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed into slits, but he didn’t say anything. Naruto could see the muscles in his jaw twitch, but nothing more, so he continued.

“You called me here for what? To fuck with my head even more?” Sasuke exhaled a short breath through his nose and shook his head at the statement. Again, Naruto continued, “You think I came for that?” his voice sounded almost weak. He was remembering the words that bastard doorman had said to him. The things he’d accused him of…

Sasuke finally spoke, “You kissed me…”

Naruto shook his head and laughed harshly, “That’s weak, Sasuke.”

Sasuke was taken back for a moment before he responded; “You’re calling me weak?” He seethed.

Naruto glared, it felt like they were back to square one. “I’m calling your actions weak.”

“And what about you?”

“You’re married! You can’t hold me responsible.” Naruto stabbed at Sasuke’s chest with his index finger, nearly hard enough to create another bruise. He rambled on, “You’re the one who came to my bar. You’re the one who invited me here in the first place.”

“And I’m at fault? Nobody forced you Naruto.” Sasuke challenged him then. He turned his nose up and glared down at Naruto.

“You lied to me.”

For a moment, Sasuke looked confused, “I’ve been upfront with you since we met.”

“Then you lied to Karin,” it was weird saying Sasuke’s wife’s name like that. Yet Naruto ignored the strange feeling, He rolled his eyes, “And to say you’ve been _upfront_ is a reach.” 

Sasuke realized what he meant, and shook his head. “I didn’t lie to you.” He reiterated. “You think I wanted to tell my wife that I fucked her nephew.” He scoffed humorlessly, “Get real.” 

“So what? You think you can call me over here just to satisfy yourself.”

Sasuke shook his head, annoyed by the accusatory statement. “You kissed me…”

“So. Fucking. What. I kissed you because I…” Naruto shook his head. He was starting to feel flushed. What was he about to say? Because he wanted to? Because he couldn’t control himself? Because even though every part of him screamed that this was a bad idea, he was completely taken by him.

Sasuke regarded him for a moment. He looked him over, his dark eyes trying to understand the unsaid words. He didn’t press it, even if a part of him wanted to know where Naruto had been going with that. He instead shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. 

“I shouldn’t have come here.” Naruto finally said after a moment of tense silence.

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed and he spoke without looking up at Naruto, “Then why did you?”

Something flashed in Naruto’s eyes, hurt, anger, pain, confusion, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Naruto huffed and lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head. The action called to his aching muscles. He looked down and noticed some bruising on his arms and stomach where Sasuke had grabbed him during their tryst. Sasuke hadn’t faired much better himself. They looked like they’d spent the last half-hour pummeling each other. Naruto shook his head and chuckled. Sasuke didn’t react, though couldn’t deny how crazy Naruto looked as his light chuckling developed into full-blown laughter.

After a moment, Naruto calmed himself down. He reached down and grabbed for his boxers.

“What the hell are we doing, Sasuke?” Naruto asked as he slipped them on.

Sasuke sighed, his resolve weakening a bit. It seemed like that same question had gone through his head just as much as it had for Naruto.

He moved over to the couch and sat down with another heavy sigh. He was careful to avoid the wet spot created from their earlier activities. Naruto watched him, and for the first time, Sasuke wasn’t giving him the same arrogant look he’d given him since they first met. He just looked like a normal guy, and it was a little relieving.

“I don’t know.” Sasuke finally answered.

Naruto sat down in front of Sasuke on the coffee table that separated the couch and the large television. He looked at Sasuke, who seemed both annoyed and (to his surprise) insecure. Naruto scratched the back of his head as he spoke, “So what now?”

“What do you mean, what now?” Sasuke grumbled, his eyes glaring at Naruto once again. “This was a mistake.” That hurt, and Naruto realized it shouldn’t have. 

“No shit,” Naruto said, trying to play it off. “But, either you’re an insane sociopath, or you feel the same way I do.” There was an awkward tension that built around that statement. It was a little bolder than Naruto had meant it to be, but he couldn’t say it wasn’t the truth. The only thing that could explain his borderline mania when it came to Sasuke was the fact that he did, in fact, develop some sort of feelings for the older man. And Sasuke’s actions appeared to be a good enough indication that he thought of Naruto as more than a passing fling. Even if he was unmistakably the biggest asshole Naruto had ever met, and made sure to remind Naruto of that every time he opened his mouth.

Sasuke stared at him for a moment. It was a long enough moment for Naruto to squirm under his sharp gaze. He had almost grown self conscious enough to cover his exposed body, but felt that if he did he would be giving Sasuke the upper hand, so he resisted the urge.

After a moment Sasuke spoke again, “So what do you suggest?” He asked, neither confirming nor denying Naruto’s statement. Though, Naruto took it as an affirmation, and probably the best he’ll get.

“I guess…” Naruto began, unsure of how Sasuke would respond to his next words. “I guess I want to get to know you… and Karin.” He added after a short moment.

Sasuke peered at him, his eyes looked tired now, no longer heated. Another second passed before the corner of Sasuke’s mouth curled upwards in a halfhearted smirk. Naruto couldn’t help but think he looked handsome sitting there in just his boxers with his hair still tussled from earlier. 

“Get to know me…” Sasuke said in a low voice. It was apparent he was talking more to himself than to Naruto. He gave a dark chuckle and shook his head. How the hell had it come to this? He vaguely wondered.

“Yeah,” Naruto answered, even if he knew his confirmation wasn’t necessary. He went on, “But no more of this.” He moved his finger between the two of him. Sasuke watched the movement curiously.

“You kissed—”

“That goes for both of us.” Naruto quickly interjected. “You said it before, and now I’m saying it. We can’t have sex, or whatever the hell that was just now. It’s too confusing…”

Sasuke sighed, “Whatever.” He couldn’t disagree. Whatever they were doing was getting messy, and indeed _confusing._  

Naruto rolled his eyes at the predictable response before abruptly getting up from the coffee table. He gathered his clothes after that and slipped them on in silence while Sasuke idly watched him.

This whole day had been very weird, and now that it was officially over, they both felt a wave of exhaustion hit them.

Sasuke got up next before he spoke, “It’s late. You can stay here if you want.” Naruto stopped in the middle of pulling his shirt over his head. He stared at Sasuke with a look of disbelief and a quirked brow to accentuate his shock. Sasuke shrugged, and then nodded his head towards the couch, “Out here.”

For some reason, Naruto felt his lips tug into a smile as he watched Sasuke’s awkward attempt at chivalry. Unable to hold it in, he let out a light chuckle and Sasuke glared because he knew he was being laughed at.

Before Sasuke could take his offer back, Naruto lifted his hand and said quickly, “Thanks! I’m beat.”

Sasuke closed his open mouth, and then grumbled something unintelligible under his breath before he turned away and left Naruto alone in the large room. Naruto relaxed his shoulders. He hadn’t even realized how tense his muscles were until then. He dropped his shirt back onto the floor and looked to the couch. There was still a noticeable stain forming there, and he flared his nostrils at it. 

A second later Sasuke returned with a bundle of folded sheets and dropped them onto the couch.

Naruto looked at them for a moment, then up at Sasuke. “Uh… thanks.”

“Hn,” was all Sasuke said, with an absent wave of his hand, and then he was gone again. Naruto heard the door down the hall shut and he knew that Sasuke wouldn’t be coming back out that night.

Naruto looked down at the couch once again and took in a deep breath. As he stared down, thinking over the events of the past hour, he whispered to himself, “What now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooooaaaa, like where did I come from, right? It's been so long since I posted T_T and I know I'm a piece of shit. So sorry. I was, y'know, dealing with some personal stuff, depression and all that. I'm back now! And I'm going to try not to take forever for the next update. And speaking of updates! I'm excited to know what you guys think. I'm curious to know where you all think the story is going. And I'm happy you guys have enjoyed it so far. Thank you so much for the support! Will update soon (hopefully next week). 
> 
> Until then~ 
> 
> PS: Shout out to Damon who probably thought I was ded.


	11. The Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! 
> 
> Okay so, I know, right? I took way too long to update this story. But, I had to take some time to really decide which direction I wanted to go in. There were so many different ways I wanted to take this, and I really needed to pick one, so I did. And now I'm back. Yay... ?
> 
> Anyway, hope y'all enjoy this update!!

Waking up on a couch that didn’t belong to him was a bit strange.

But, it was made much weirder waking up on the couch to find Sasuke dressed in a suit, sitting on the chair beside the couch, sipping coffee and staring at him as if he’d dropped from outer space.

Naruto squinted at the older man and managed to sit up on an elbow, even if he was still tired enough to turn over and continue his sleep.

“Good morning,” Naruto said, voice gruff with exhaustion. Sasuke eyed him, but didn’t respond immediately. He took another sip of his coffee, and then sat it down on the table between them.

He crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair before he spoke, “You’re my wife’s nephew. You and my daughter are related. And I still want to fuck you.” Naruto’s face grew hot from the shrewd words said so casually, nonchalant. Sasuke folded his hands in front of him, “And you still want to be friends with me?” His eyebrow quirked up. Naruto thought it was an attractive look, but he wouldn’t say that out loud.

Sasuke must have been thinking about their conversation more the night before. Naruto knew this man well enough to know he wasn’t one to beat around the bush, but continuing this talk first thing in the morning was a little disorienting. He’d have to blame his morning wood on that, rather than the crude way Sasuke opened up the conversation. 

Naruto swallowed and sat up a bit more. He held a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat to say, “What other option do we have?”

Sasuke shrugged, “Let me fuck you.” Naruto couldn’t help but let out a short, incredulous laugh, because this man was too arrogant for his own good. He’d ignore the way those words felt on his junk.

“And we’ve seen how well that turned out,” Naruto rolled his eyes. Sasuke’s lips quirked up, almost a smile, but not quite.

“We’ve seen how trying to be friends worked out as well.” Sasuke pointed out, and Naruto didn’t really have an argument for that.

After a moment, Naruto sighed, “Having sex is not a good idea.”

“And pretending it didn’t happen is a better idea?” Sasuke countered.

“That was your idea.”

“And I see the problems with it now.” Sasuke shrugged, sipped his coffee, and placed it down again. 

Again, Naruto didn’t know what to say.

So he didn’t say anything for a while.

And then a thought occurred to him.

“What’s your favorite color?”

Sasuke looked up, shocked by the random question. After a moment, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Naruto almost laughed at the skeptical look towards such a harmless question.

“Why?” was Sasuke’s answer, and Naruto rolled his eyes.

“Can’t I just ask?” Naruto countered.

Sasuke looked away for a moment, thinking it over, then looked back and said, “Red.”

Naruto nodded and grinned, unsure why the information made him feel a bit happy. He went on, “Mine is orange. Favorite food?” 

Sasuke leaned back in his chair now, “Rice. Is this some sort of game?” 

“No games. And rice? Really?” Naruto leaned forward and Sasuke shrugged.

“It goes with everything.” Sasuke said, his tone the slightest bit defensive. It made Naruto laugh a bit and shake his head.

“That’s boring as hell. My favorite is ramen. Ichiraku specifically.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “I could’ve guessed that.”

Naruto smiled, but didn’t have a comeback. He asked next, “Favorite place.”

“Favorite place?” Sasuke leaned forward to grab his coffee. He sipped it down as Naruto explained.

“Mine is the beach.” Naruto said and Sasuke scoffed. Naruto narrowed his eyes at him, “What?” 

“Isn’t that a bit vague?”

Naruto rolled his eyes, “Well it’s the truth. What about you? I bet it’s somewhere dark and creepy.”

Sasuke glared and Naruto grinned, but his answer made Naruto falter a bit, “The Mountains.”

“Mountains? Like Fuji?” Naruto leaned forward a bit and Sasuke shrugged. “So you like to go hiking?” Naruto pushed and Sasuke smirked.

“I do,” and then his smirk turned into something else, maybe a smile, when he said, “I took Sarada hiking. She’s so small, I had to carry her for the most part.”

Naruto blinked, surprised that Sasuke would elaborate so much and it seemed to dawn on Sasuke as well. The older man cleared his throat and steeled the whimsical look off his face.

He shrugged as if the momentary lapse had never happened. “It’s relaxing.”

Naruto smiled and decided to move on. They spent an hour after that going back and forth about favorites, things they did to pass the time and even memorable experiences. Sasuke liked Japanese enka music and American classic rock, Naruto preferred American Pop and Japanese rock. Sasuke read and watched the news in his free time, while Naruto played video games or found some show to watch with his friends. Sasuke played the piano for twelve years, while the closest thing to an instrument Naruto could play was the Triangle.

Sasuke seemed to relax into the conversation while Naruto was amazed by some of the things Sasuke had experienced in America. After listening to Sasuke describe the nightlife in New York, he spoke up, “I’d like to go there.” He might have said it as if he were inviting himself on some sort of trip with Sasuke so he waved his hands to quickly clean up his words. “I mean, you know, some day way far from now. Since I work at a club, it would be cool to see the differences.” He scratched the back of his head while Sasuke smirked and shook his.

Sasuke’s eyes drifted to the time displayed on the box beneath the TV then looked over Naruto once more.

He stood up after a moment and said, “This was nice, but I’ve got work. I can drop you off if you need me to.” He grabbed his coffee on the way, and walked around the couch towards the kitchen.

Naruto looked over the back of the couch to watch Sasuke pour out the remainder of the dark liquid and set the mug aside. He scratched the back of his head when he’d finally managed to say, “Okay sure.” He felt a bit disappointed that the conversation was being cut so soon. But he wouldn’t comment on the way his stomach flipped at the thought of leaving. 

He pulled the covers from around his waist, and turned to plant his feet on the floor. Next he stretched his arms over his head and popped a few of his aching muscles. 

Expensive couch or not, it was still too small for his long limbs and left a weird kink in his lower back. So he twisted a few times, and idly wondered what he’d do for the day. He didn’t think he could sit through class; he’d been so mentally stressed for the past two days, he could go for a little relaxation. Maybe he’d call Sakura or Hinata…

He grabbed for his pants that were crumpled on the floor in front of the couch, and spotted something underneath the TV stand on his way down. He stared at it as he slipped his legs in and then got up to inspect it.

“What are you doing?” Sasuke asked as he’d caught on to Naruto’s investigation.

Naruto didn’t respond immediately. He crouched down and pulled out what was revealed to be a DVD case. He grinned at it, and turned to Sasuke, “Lost?”

Sasuke’s nostrils flared and he made a face that was likely the closest thing to embarrassment Naruto could imagine coming from the stoic man. 

“So?” Sasuke shrugged. Naruto turned and slid open the door to the TV stand. Sasuke raised a hand to stop him, but then fisted it and let it fall to his side. He refused to show that he was uncomfortable with the blonde’s snooping, even if his ears were getting a bit red.

“Wow, you have all the seasons! Grey’s Anatomy? Degrassi?!” Naruto held up the DVDs and presented them to Sasuke as if he hadn’t seen them before. “You said you watched the news. Were you lying?” Naruto teased and Sasuke’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“I wasn’t lying,” Sasuke grumbled, childishly and sort of cute. 

“But you like a lot of American dramas, huh?” Naruto said with a grin.

Sasuke walked over and crouched down beside Naruto, snatching them from his hands and neatly putting them back in their place. 

“You shouldn’t touch other people’s stuff.” Sasuke chided, sounding more unaffected than his reddened skin suggested.

“Why not? I’m a guest.”

“Unwanted guest.” 

“Invited guest,” Naruto said with a smug grin. Sasuke sneered at him, and then closed the door to the TV stand.

“Get dressed and let’s go.”

“Wait!” Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke’s arm to stop him from getting up. Sasuke looked down at the hand and Naruto quickly removed it. “Uh…” Naruto started a bit awkwardly, but quickly righted himself; “I’m blowing off classes today.”

Sasuke tilted his head, “So?”

Naruto rolled his eyes and gestured between them with his finger, “So, why not do something? Hang out, _be friends._ ”

Sasuke scoffed at that, “Just because you can skip school doesn’t mean I can skip work, moron.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed and he leaned closer to Sasuke as if he were trying to see if he was being serious, “Aren’t you like… the head of that company?”

Sasuke smirked, ego effectively stroked, “So?” He said again and Naruto rolled his eyes again.

“Sooo,” Naruto dragged out, then opened the stand again to pull out the LOST: Season One DVD case. “Does this have Japanese subs, or what?” 

Sasuke let out a breathy laugh and shook his head, not at the question but at the situation. Then he looked up at Naruto and grabbed the DVD from his hand.

 

* * *

 

Sasuke changed into black joggers and a grey shirt. It was insane how even the simplest clothes can make Sasuke’s body look… like… well… 

Naruto didn’t want to think about it. He sat on one end of the couch, while Sasuke sat on the other.

After the first episode, Naruto didn’t feel nearly as awkward as he probably should have felt sitting next to his sort-of-uncle that he’d slept with.

It was on the second episode that Naruto felt too tired to sit normally, and wanted to stretch out on the couch. Sasuke was on the other end, sitting with his legs spread and eyes focused on the screen. Naruto didn’t think he’d mind it, so he laid back, rested his head on the arm of the couch and his feet in Sasuke’s lap.

Sasuke looked down at them, then at Naruto, who gave him a cheeky grin. 

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and continued watching.

Another episode, and Naruto couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “You’ve watched this before?”

Sasuke looked at him. During the last episode he’d gotten up to grab a glass of water and was taking a sip when Naruto spoke.

He swallowed, sat the glass on the table, and then nodded, “I have.”

Naruto nodded back, watched the screen for a moment, and said, “So does Kate die at some point, or…?” 

Sasuke smirked at him and said, “Idiot,” but didn’t answer his question. 

“Okay, just asking.” Naruto shrugged, looking playfully relaxed, and continued watching. 

It was quiet, but it felt oddly comfortable, as if they had been doing this for years.

Sasuke was hilarious to watch, more so than this show (which was way more interesting than Naruto thought it would be). It was so obvious that Sasuke was into it, even if he was attempting to look as passive as ever. His lips would twitch at something said, his hands would clench if something was about to happen, and his eyes would narrow just a tiny bit more if a character he didn’t like so much was on screen. It was cute, even if Naruto wouldn’t admit it.

He’d realized during the fifth episode that he was watching Sasuke more than he was watching the show, so he did his best not to look so much.

“This is good,” Naruto said, because again, it was hard to stay quiet for too long, and honestly he thought he was doing a pretty damn good job.

“Hn,” was all Sasuke said in response.

“Do you always watch stuff like this?” Naruto kept on and Sasuke shrugged.

“When I have the time.” 

Naruto nodded. He wanted to talk more, but some girl was drowning on screen and it pulled his attention.

“I like him.” Naruto pointed at the screen, and Sasuke’s eyes narrowed when they turned to him. 

“Boone?” 

“Is that how you say his name?” Naruto asked seriously and Sasuke rolled his eyes. “He’s hot,” Naruto continued, looking back at the screen.

“He’s annoying.” Sasuke stopped to think for a moment. “Reminds me of you, actually.”

Naruto grinned at him, but Sasuke shut him down almost immediately.

“Because he’s annoying, not because you think he’s hot,” Sasuke pointed out and Naruto stuck his tongue out. 

The door opened behind them, and only Naruto looked back to see who it was. 

Sai walked in, dressed in his usual suit and carrying a black bag. He looked over at the couch and smiled at Naruto.

“Naruto-san,” he gave a half-bow. Naruto flushed, for some reason, feeling a bit embarrassed. He just lifted his hand to awkwardly wave, then turned to resume watching. He was only slightly more aware of the situation he was in, and hearing Sai rustling around in the kitchen was only making it a little bit worse. 

Sai’s presence was a little unnerving. It was like him and Sasuke had been in their own world, and now someone from the outside had entered. It felt strange, but aside from a bit of squirming, Naruto did his best not to react to it. 

It was getting late and hard to believe that they’d been watching this show for nearly eight hours straight. Naruto could finally understand why Sakura and Ino would always “binge” watch whatever they got into. 

When he noticed that it was nearing 7PM, he removed his feet from Sasuke’s lap. Until then, he hadn’t even registered that they were still there, but now his feet were cold, so he folded them under his thighs.

“It’s getting late,” Naruto said, and Sasuke lifted the remote to shut off the TV.

Sai was cooking something that smelled delicious and his stomach was reacting terribly because they hadn’t really eaten while they watched the show.

Sasuke stared at him for a moment. He spared Sai a glance, the first since he’d gotten there, and then turned his eyes back on Naruto.

As if his silent look was directed at Naruto’s stomach, it growled in response. Sasuke looked like he wanted to laugh, but there was no way he would. Naruto figured he was too much of a prick to let out an actual laugh, because he snorted and smirked a little instead. 

“You’re hungry?” He asked knowingly and Naruto lifted his nose at him.

“I don’t see how that’s surprising.”

“I didn’t say it was,” Sasuke said, and Naruto opened his mouth to retort when Sasuke spoke again, “You can stay and eat if you want to.” The offer came out a little bit forced and Naruto noticed. 

Naruto let out a short laugh and scratched the back of his head, “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Because then this day would feel a hell of a lot like a date, and that was the whole issue with the last attempt at some sort of camaraderie between them. He needed to keep his distance. At his response, Sasuke seemed to understand Naruto’s meaning.

“Do you still want me to take you home?” Sasuke asked then, and Naruto wondered if he was imagining the bit of hopefulness he heard in that passive voice.

But, the likelihood of Sasuke actually wanting him to stick around was hard to believe after everything. Naruto knew he was putting out more than Sasuke, and a part of that was just in his nature. Maybe, Sasuke wasn’t someone who could grow attached the way Naruto could. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe Naruto was reading way too far into this.

“No,” Naruto finally answered and Sasuke looked away with a short nod. “I want to walk. I’ve got a lot on my mind.” He wasn’t sure why he was compelled to explain himself, but he was.

Sasuke looked back at him, and there was something there. Something confusing. Naruto wouldn’t think on it for too long, and Sasuke didn’t let him, “That’s hard to believe.”

Naruto’s mouth opened wide and his eyes danced a bit at the joke, “Oh wow. You know, I’m a straight A-B student."

Sasuke chuckled, _actually chuckled_ , and shook his head, “I don’t think that’s how it works, idiot.” 

Naruto pouted and got up, doing his best to straighten his rumpled clothes and look offended. “I’m leaving.” Naruto said, as if it was supposed to have some sort of affect on Sasuke. 

“Okay, Naruto,” Sasuke said, sounding humored. 

Naruto walked around the couch to the door, and was surprised that Sasuke got up to meet him there. He pulled on his shoes and straightened to meet Sasuke’s eyes. 

“Well I’ll see you Saturday,” Naruto wondered if he looked as awkward as he felt saying that. Sasuke didn’t have much of a reaction. He shrugged a shoulder and looked a little too handsome standing with his hands in his pockets watching Naruto.

 _Fuck_. 

Naruto really wanted to step forward and kiss him. He had to clench his hands to his sides to keep himself standing where he was.

He wondered if Sasuke saw him struggling because his lips curled in a cocky smirk. 

_Bastard._

“I’ll see you Saturday.”

Naruto nodded and tried to smile, but it probably just looked like a weird smirk, “This was fun.” He motioned to the TV and Sasuke followed the movement with his dark eyes. They slid back to land on Naruto again.

“It wasn’t terrible.”

Naruto nodded again, and now he just felt silly. “Well bye,” he grinned, and then turned to leave because he was starting to sweat.

He opened the door and left it up to Sasuke to close it behind him.

As soon as he was out, he headed straight for the elevator and was beating himself up a little, because what the fuck was that?

Everything had felt so normal, but then… he wasn’t even sure. There was this weird feeling in his stomach that he’d always get around Sasuke, the same feeling he’d had the first time he’d seen Sasuke, when he’d went to his office demanding his wallet back, when he’d been at that onsen and called Sasuke on a whim, and now, waiting for the elevator to come.

This type of crush shouldn’t even be allowed, and especially not with someone like _him._ Not Sasuke. Not someone who openly cheats on his wife who also happens to be Naruto’s aunt.

Jesus. 

How long will it take for these feelings to die already?

 

* * *

 

“So, you’re friends now?” Sakura said as they sat down together on his couch. It was past 8PM now and he was starving. Sakura had shown up from a simple text: **ICHIRAKU** ** _._**

Thirty minutes later she was knocking on the door and holding up God’s gift to college students.

It was only five minutes in when Naruto told her what he’d decided with Sasuke, and he supposed the _“You’re such an idiot”_ look was better than the _“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK”_ look.

Naruto slurped up a mouthful of noodles, giving himself the second he needed to respond before he said, “Well what else was I supposed to do?”

Sakura rolled her eyes, “Oh, I don’t know, maybe told him to fuck off. Then go to his wife, _your aunt_ , tell her you two screwed and watch it all burn.”

“Okay, there’s that,” he said, pointing with his chopsticks. “But, I don’t want to ruin our relationship either.”

“Relationship with who? Your aunt or the bastard you’re sleeping with?”

Naruto huffed, “I’m not sleeping with him! We watched this show called Lost! It was really good.”

Sakura eyed him, and Naruto squirmed.

After a moment, Naruto had to ask, “What?” 

“You watched some show called Lost… that’s it?”

“Well…” he paused, realizing he hadn’t told her about the night before. He also didn’t know if he wanted to tell her.

“You so did not just watch a show called Lost.”

“Okay!” Naruto sagged against the couch, lifting his cup a noodles to hide behind them as he spoke, “We did some stuff last night.” Sakura opened her mouth wide to say something, but sat up quickly to stop her. “But we both agreed that it was a huge mistake and we’re just going to be friends now.”

“Friends?” Sakura’s tone suggested she was far from believing him. 

“He’s not so bad,” Naruto reasoned. Even so, as the words came out of his mouth, he realized he was fooling himself. He _was_ so bad, and that was possibly why Naruto liked him so much.

Sakura sighed; looking exhausted, and rubbed her forehead with her manicured hand. “You know, I can’t even argue with you anymore. You’re already too far gone. I mean, I tried to reason with you, but at a certain point, I’ve just got to let you make your own mistakes.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed at her, and she deflected the look with a flick of her wrist.

“Oh please. You know you’re in love with him.”

Naruto wasn’t expecting that at all. He leaned back, eyes wide and mouth sputtering.

“What?” He finally managed to say through a disbelieving breath. “I am not. That’s ridiculous! I hardly even know him, past him being a narcissistic, prick-ish, self righteous, girly-faced, bastard, who’s way too wealthy for his own good and a total cheating asshat who only thinks about sex.”

“And yet he’s not so bad, right?” She said without missing a beat in a mocking voice that made Naruto bristle.

“He’s…” Naruto tried, but he was at a blank. So instead, he placed his food down, having lost his appetite, and said, “I’m not in love with him.”

 

* * *

 

The next day Naruto hadn’t heard from Sasuke. He didn’t expect to, but he did think about it, which he figured was harmless. They’d spent a whole day watching an American drama together. It was natural to think about a person after that.

The following days he had classes so it was easy to let his mind drift to more important matters, like the ten page essay he needed to turn in the next week.

Friday night’s shift felt like it had come out of nowhere. He’d napped beforehand and was a bit cranky because he’d woken up from a dream of Sasuke’s head between his legs and only had ten minutes to get his shit together before he had to leave for his shift.

But he was at the bar smiling like it’d never happened.

He had just handed over two shots of vodka to a pair of drunken men who were struggling to stand straight. He was thinking he should cut them off after that when a familiar face appeared in his peripheral.

He accepted their cash, and then turned to Gaara who was settling at the bar. Naruto’s face split into a wide grin. 

“Hey!” He said over the booming music.

Gaara gave him a small smile and ordered, “Whiskey.”

Naruto grinned at him, nodded and bent down to grab a glass. He turned around to the wall of alcohol and found his best brand of whiskey and held it up to the redhead, “Jameson okay?” Naruto asked and Gaara simply nodded. “On the rocks?” He asked while he sat the glass on the bar.

“Straight,” Gaara answered and Naruto skipped over the ice as requested and twisted off the cap of the bottle.

As he poured he smiled at Gaara, “What’re you doing out late? Don’t you have to work in the morning?”

Gaara shrugged, “I don’t get much sleep. Besides, I wanted to see you.” 

Naruto paused. Luckily he was finished pouring so it didn’t appear so jarring.

He sat the bottle down and twisted on the cap. He was genuinely shocked by Gaara’s words. It wasn’t like they ended anything on a bad note, but Gaara hadn’t reached out to him at all in the past week. He’d assumed Gaara was putting up a front when he said he was okay with what Naruto did. He still wasn’t fully convinced.

“How’ve you been?” Naruto asked next while he put the bottle back in its place among others.

Gaara shrugged and sipped at his Irish whiskey. “Good. Busy.”

Naruto nodded and opened his mouth to ask something else when he caught sight of someone waving him over from the other side of the bar. He held up a finger to Gaara and walked over.

They’d asked for two Heinekens. He bent down and found two bottles, uncapped them, handed them over, accepted their money, gave them change, accepted their tip and returned to Gaara only minutes later.

He leaned on the bar with his elbows and folded his arms. 

Gaara spoke first this time, “How are you, Naruto?”

Naruto smiled and shrugged, “Stressed,” was his easy answer. He also wasn’t sure if he knew Gaara well enough to tell him all that had happened in the last week.

“Still with that guy?” Gaara took another sip of his drink. Naruto noted that he’d barely scratched the surface with it. He vaguely wondered if he was even there to drink. 

“I was never with him,” Naruto clarified, even if saying those words made his neck feel hot. 

Gaara smirked, “If that’s what you say.”

Naruto laughed a little, even if he felt a bit bothered. He wasn’t exactly sure why, so he didn’t comment on it.

There was a rare moment of pseudo-silence at the bar. Naruto idly wiped it down and smiled up every now and then at the patron’s whose eyes lingered on him for longer than a second. Most people had a drink in their hand. Gaara was only sipping at his, and Naruto wasn’t sure what to say.

“Have you spoken to Neji lately?” The words were spoken while Naruto was checking to see if he needed more ice. So when he heard them, he looked up from the container and scrunched his eyebrows.

“What?” Naruto asked, because he wasn’t sure if he’d heard correctly. 

“Have you spoken to Neji lately?” Gaara repeated, sipped at his drink and disregarded the way Naruto’s skin reddened under the neon strobe lights. 

“No,” Naruto said, and wanted to ask why Gaara had brought him up, but also was a bit terrified of where that road might take him. He cleared his throat, closed the lid to his ice compartment and gave Gaara a long look.

Gaara didn’t say anything immediately and the silent staring made Naruto shift his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

He opened his mouth, finally caving in, and was about to push the subject further when a boisterous voice stopped him. He looked over at the young looking man waving him over with an enthusiastic outstretched arm. Even with the cold sweat that pricked from hair down his neck, he managed to grin welcomingly at the man as he left Gaara’s end of the bar to approach him with a drink menu.

He wasn’t sure why he was so bothered by Gaara bringing Neji up. He could happily say he hadn’t thought about his ex for the past weeks, something that was just now dawning on him. He wouldn’t think about why, or _who_ might be the cause of that. But there was something about the way Gaara looked at him, as if there was something he should know, as if Naruto was missing something obvious. It bothered him so much; he barely registered what the man ordered. 

After a second, he stammered out, “Te-Tequila?” And leaned over the bar to listen better over the loud music.

The young man smiled big. He reached forward and rubbed Naruto’s shoulder, looking overly appreciative of the muscle there, and nodded. Naruto moved from the touch and nodded back, not bothered because he was used to his customers being too drunk to remember the general physical boundaries between bartender and patron. He turned to make the drink and when he did he spotted the seat where Gaara was. It was empty and the half glass of whiskey was still there with a few bills curled beside it.

 

* * *

 

When Naruto woke up after his Saturday shift around 3PM, he hadn’t really thought about the day he had ahead of him until Sakura had shown up at his apartment wearing a pretty, pale green dress covered by a long fluffy coat. She only had half of her makeup done. 

Naruto blinked at her through the doorway. She had her makeup bag in one hand and her purse in the other. She was looking down at the CL shirt and boxers he wore from his night at work.

“Uh, please don’t tell me you’re wearing that.” She joked and walked past him into the apartment.

An hour later Naruto was dressed in a tight black pants, a blue collared shirt and black jacket. The shirt had orange trimming that Sakura thought was ugly, but he didn’t care because he’d gotten this shirt as a gift from his mother two years ago, so it was one of his favorites.

When Minato pulled up to the apartment at 5PM, Naruto and Sakura were waiting outside. They’d climbed into the car and set off for the location Karin had texted Minato at some point within the week. Naruto kept shifting around in his seat. His leg was bouncing so much that it was making this thudding noise that could be heard over the soft music playing. Sakura was glaring at him because she just wanted him to stop for a fucking second. 

Fifteen minutes into the ride, she couldn’t take it anymore, “Will you stop doing that?” Naruto froze for a moment then looked back from the passenger seat at Sakura’s sour expression.

“Stop what?” 

Sakura rolled her eyes.

Minato answered for her, “You’re doing that thing when you get nervous.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed, “What thing?” He leg started bouncing again and he caught it with his hands to make it stop. He glared at it, then at his dad when he heard him snicker beside him.

“Why are you so nervous?” Minato asked and Sakura scoffed behind them.

“I’m not nervous.” Naruto lied. He felt like his stomach was trying to force itself out of his ass. 

“He’s nervous.” Sakura corrected and Naruto turned to her with his middle finger. She stuck her tongue at it and Naruto huffed and turned back to face the moving streets through the windshield. 

Minato peeked over at his son, and then back at the road, then at his son again. 

“You’re nervous because of that Sasuke guy, aren’t you?” Minato started and Naruto was startled by the words. He felt himself sweating a bit now, and he could feel Sakura’s eyes boring into him from the back of his seat. Minato continued when Naruto didn’t immediately respond. “I’m sure it’ll be okay. You didn’t know he was married when you met him, right?”

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, “I didn’t.” He also hadn’t told his dad the whole truth about him and Sasuke, but was now really the time? 

Minato shrugged, “We all make mistakes Naruto, and clearly this Sasuke has made plenty. But you can’t blame yourself too much if you didn’t know. And now, you’ve learned your lesson, and you know to do a background check before you sleep with another guy,” Minato laughed at his own joke and Naruto gave a weak attempt at reciprocating. He knew his father was just trying his best to be encouraging. So, why the hell did it make Naruto’s skin itch to hear those words? 

“Right,” Naruto agreed and he felt Sakura’s foot hit the back of his seat.

“Naruto,” she said in a warning tone and Naruto knew exactly why. But, instead of telling his dad the truth he closed his eyes and prayed that he wouldn’t go to hell for it.

 

* * *

 

The three of them arrived at the mansion with matching shocked expressions. Their eyes were wide and mouths hung open as Minato pulled up the impossibly long driveway. It was like going through a museum exhibit. There was a field of flowers, clearly maintained regularly, a pond where a few koi fish swam, a couple statues, the only one he recognized being Buddha, and to top it off the manor was framed by large trees. It ended in a circle where there was a line of well dressed men standing outside to help the women out and drive the cars to some other location to be parked. 

Minato pulled up in front of one of the gentlemen. The back door was opened for Sakura and they all got out at the same time. Minato smiled awkwardly at the man and handed him his keys.

The man could see that Minato wasn’t exactly sure what to do after that so he encouraged him with a bow and said, “Enjoy the party, sir.” Then he got into the car and drove off. Another car pulled up and a different man came to greet them. They all scurried out the way when they realized they’d been standing there for too long. 

“Holy shit,” Naruto finally said as they walked up to the building, taller than any of them were expecting and tastefully decorated with bright Christmas, likely recently turned on as the sun had just started to set. It reminded them that the holiday was right around the corner. People in fancy dresses and suits walked past them to where there were two men at the door, holding tablets and letting them in. 

Naruto felt severely underdressed. He imaged his father felt the same, standing there in a simple brown pants, cream collared shirt combo under his worn brown coat. 

Sakura looked to Naruto and nudged him. When he managed to tear his eyes away from the impressive home to look at his friend he’d almost laughed at her shocked expression. “This is insane,” she finally said and he nodded without hesitation. 

It honestly was. As uneasy it was walking into Sasuke’s building in the city, it was nothing compared to this. It was possibly the fact that they were personally invited that made everything all the more unsettling. Karin was expecting them and here they were entering a world they’d all never even thought to dream of. Surreal may be the only way to describe it.

“C-come on, guys,” Minato said, trying to smile and not look completely uncomfortable. They looked over at him with matching apprehension, and he gave them a thumbs-up that was more awkward than anything else.

They all looked up at the building and took tentative steps towards it. Naruto saddled up closer to his dad and nudged him. He whispered, because the increasing number of wealthy people were moving past them as if they didn’t exist and he sort of wanted to keep it that way, “Is this what mom’s house was like before you moved here?”

Minato looked over at his son, a sheepish grin on his face, “Well,” he whispered back. “I never really saw her home.” And Naruto rolled his eyes, because it was completely possible that his dad had never known how wealthy his mom’s family was. Of course, this was obviously a combination of the Uchiha and Uzumaki fortune. Either way, it was still daunting.

They made it up to the entrance and one of the men regarded them over the tablet, which was revealed to be a guest list. At first glance the man looked a bit startled by their presence. He looked over their heads and around, likely wondering if this was some sort of prank before his scrutinizing eyes landed on them again.

“Name?” He asked, nose up and eyes narrowed.

“Namekaze and Uzumaki,” Minato answered for them, looking shy and jittery. 

The man’s eyes widened a fraction when he’d stopped his scrolling to find their names on the screen, but he didn’t say anything. He simply stepped to the side, allowing them through the double doors. And it was like stepping into Narnia. The smell hit them first, fresh flowers or something like that. The walls were cream colored and the floor was marble. If there weren’t so many people shuffling around, they may have been able to clearly see the obscure artwork and accent pieces decorating the walls.

Another man was directly inside and he held out his hand to take their coats. After they’d pulled them off and handed them over, they moved down the long entryway to get to where most of the noise was populated. Two men stood at double doors they could only assume was the “party room”. When they’d approached among a group of people, the men slid the doors open and allowed everyone inside.

The room was larger then they were expecting. The ceiling was tall and the room was probably holding around three hundred or so people. And yet, there was room to freely move around without constantly brushing against some stranger.

Men and women walked around holding up trays with champagne glasses and small hors d'oeuvres. When one of the workers stopped in front of them, they all grabbed a glass because they weren’t sure what else to do.

“This is weird,” Sakura said when the worker bowed and left them stranded.

Naruto nodded, his eyes darting around the room and over people’s heads, not really looking for anything in particular.

Sakura didn’t buy it. She nudged him, possibly harder than she’d meant to, and when he looked down at her she glared. 

“What?” He asked, trying to appear innocent.

“You’re looking for him, and it’s obnoxious.” She whispered and Naruto felt his cheeks heat up.

“I am not,” he whispered back. She crossed her arms and tilted her head to give him knowing look. “I wasn’t!” He whispered louder. She shook her head. 

“Naruto! Old man!” Karin’s booming voice drew their attention and the trio turned to watch her approach them with a delicate arm stretched towards them while the other was tucked under and holding up her daughter. The two of them were breathtaking, for lack of better words.

Scratch that. Stunning, alluring and elegant were equally effective in describing the way Karin looked in her long red dress, matte colored and hugging her curves all the way down to her ankles. Sarada wore a similar colored dress, frilly in the right places and layered perfectly to make her look like a little doll. The red ribbons in her hair were just the right amount of adorable.

Minato smiled, “Karin, you look gorgeous.” She walked up and kissed his cheek then did the same to Naruto. 

“And who is this?” She said when her eyes landed on Sakura.

Naruto cleared his throat, “My plus-one.” He answered and he wondered if she might have misunderstood him when her eyes brightened at his words.

“Oh wonderful! Well, they’re still setting up the table in the other room so dinner is still a while away.” She explained and Naruto couldn’t help the way his eyes widened. 

Minato asked the question they were all thinking, “There’s dinner for all these people?”

Karin looked him over, and then grinned. She didn’t answer his question, and maybe that was all the answer he needed. Instead she looked away to scan the room, “I’m not too sure where my husband is. I wanted him to greet you too, but,” she clicked her tongue when she couldn’t spot him. Naruto hated that he felt his nerves jump at the mention of Sasuke. Sakura glared at him, and he realized his face must’ve changed as well. He steeled his expression when Karin started up again, “This is our daughter, Sarada,” she leaned forward to allow them to get a closer look. At the sound of her name the little girl raised a small hand and waved shyly at them.

Sakura’s eyes brightened, and she reached forward to shake the little hand. “Hello,” she cooed and Sarada let out a small laugh.

“Hello,” Sarada mimicked and they could all agree that this little girl was easily too much for their hearts.

Sakura awed and leaned back when Karin moved to address Minato and Naruto separately. “This is your cousin, Naruto. Say hi.” Karin bounced a little and Sarada lifted her hand again, opening and closing her fingers like she was grabbing for something.

“Hi,” Sarada said, simply copying her mother. Naruto gulped, because he was looking into her eyes and they looked so much like Sasuke’s that it was terrifying.

He let out a heavy breath when the pair turned away from him and focused on his father.

“And this is your uncle, Minato. Say hi.” Karin said and again Sarada did her hand grabby thing and said ‘hi’. They all laughed, because it almost felt practiced. “She obviously gets her communication skills from her father,” Karin grumbled in a humored tone. She rolled her eyes, but looked pleased. 

The silence after that dragged a bit, so Minato spoke up.

“Well we won’t keep you,” Minato started, waving his hand out at the crowd and smiling kindly. “You have a lot of guests to tend to.”

Karin chuckled and shook her head at him, “That’s what the help’s for.” She rolled her eyes, but then said, “I do suppose I should greet them.” She leaned forward next and the three leaned in because they knew she was going to whisper. “Truth be told, I don’t know over half of these people.” She made a face and they all smiled at her charming behavior. Naruto ignored the way his heart felt thinking that Karin was actually someone he felt he could get along with. Knowing that and still feeling anxious to see Sasuke was only creating a terrible mixture of feelings in his stomach.

“Say bye-bye, Sarada,” Karin said, turning her bright smile on her daughter.

“Bye-bye,” Sarada said with a meek wave and Karin rolled her eyes again. They turned away after that, and Naruto felt like he could finally breathe again.

After Karin left, it seemed like there was more attention on their little group. Naruto assumed they were all just surprised that the hostess had come up to them to talk for longer than a second. Every now and then someone would stop and make conversation with them, or attempt to, and it usually ended when Minato informed them that he worked at a post office, or when Naruto mentioned the words “club” or “school”. 

It was exhausting, and made it blaringly obvious that the people there didn’t have any interest in the little world they lived in. The only one of them that was able to hold some sort of conversation was Sakura who’d been approached by a few of the younger, male guests. One of them was a surgeon and Sakura was excited to talk to him until his eyes lingered on her chest for too long. She’d silently agreed not to get too comfortable with anyone here and stood a little bit closer to Naruto after that.

It was still booming after an hour and thirty minutes of their failed attempts at mingling, and Naruto was admittedly antsy. It was partly because of the amount of high-class people staring at them when they thought they weren’t looking (and likely whispering things to each other about Naruto’s scuffed shoes, his father’s twenty dollar watch, or Sakura’s fake pearls). It was also partly due to a certain raven-haired somebody who remains unseen. Naruto’s eyes were starting to get strained by how much he’d darted them around the room in his silent search. It wasn’t until the latest guest walked away from their little “poverty” group, that Naruto cleared his throat and announced, “I’m going to the bathroom,”

Naruto walked off after receiving a scolding look from Sakura and a small smile from his dad. He sat a drink he’d forgotten was in his hand on a passing tray and made his way towards the back of the room where he spotted a new set of doors.

He really needed to get out of this room. His nerves were all over the place and he wasn’t able to relax around all those people.

As soon as he got to the doors he pushed them open and slid through. He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall beside it to take a moment to breathe.

For a moment, he just stood like that, breathing in and out because there wasn’t anyone in this little hallway and that was comforting. He didn’t bother to wonder why that would be, and figured he should just be grateful. 

A few breaths later, he pushed from the wall and looked down the hall he was in. It was dimly lit, the main lights obviously off for whatever reason. He looked back at the doors where he could still hear the soft music and murmur of the crowd, then back down the hall. It didn’t take much debating to push him to explore where the hall led.

He slowly walked down, eyes drifting from the different art pieces on the wall, while he narrowly missed hitting his hip against a small table holding up an expensive looking vase.

At the end of the hall there was a staircase that curled around a corner so he couldn’t see all the way up. He looked up into the darkness, then again over his shoulder. He was feeling nervous again, as if someone was going to grab him by the arm and yank him into a time out.

Naruto figured he should go back. By now Sakura was probably forming all types of ideas about where he’d went. And yet, for some reason he looked back up at the stairs.

He wiped his palms on his pants and took the first step. He thought again that he should turn back, but then he’d taken the next step and it felt like it was already too late. 

It was dark at the top of the stairs, but through the dim lights (which he could now see were on the wall near the floor) the hallway was equally as elegant as what he’d seen of the downstairs.

As he walked, he scolded himself for snooping around when he knew he should probably turn around and rejoin the party. Even so, something compelled him to keep walking forward. He didn’t want to think about what it was, chalking it up to pure curiosity, but he knew it was something else mixed in; excitement, maybe.

When he turned the corner at the end of the hall, he spotted another set of double doors, cracked open and bleeding a sliver of light to let him know the room wasn’t empty. He wondered if he was actually insane for wanting to go inside. It was probably the soft music playing that drew him closer to the door. Naruto remembered his conversation with Sasuke the other day. Enka music, a sound that usually drove Naruto crazy, was floating into the hallway and becoming louder with each step.

Before he knew it, he was inches away from the doors. He reached a shaky hand up to one and hesitated. He just sat there with his hand there, feeling uncomfortable and knowing he shouldn’t be there. But he was, and he was still hell bent on disregarding the reasons why.

He swallowed and slid it open, just enough so that his body could fit through and stepped in when he saw that the room was seemingly empty. He shifted around, unable to keep his nerves from jumping underneath his skin.

The room was enormous, no surprise there, mostly blue and accented with reds and whites. The decorations were limited, which Naruto could have expected from Sasuke, though less from what he had seen of Karin’s large personality. On one side there was a full couch and loveseat set surrounding a dark wooden coffee table, and on the other was a super king-sized bed that seemed a mile away from where Naruto stood by the door. There was a chandelier lighting the room and in the corner was a record player where that damned music was pouring out. 

Naruto took another step forward and his attention was brought to the door on the far other side of the room, closed and letting out a line of light. He gulped at it, because he could easily presume that it was the bathroom and also who was inside.

This was the time to realize he was being an impulsive idiot, because there was no reason for him to be up there and not down with Sakura (who was definitely going to kill him later for this) and his father. This was absolutely not the time to be standing there, fidgeting and stupid, looking at the door and waiting for the water to stop running. When it did, he was offered another few seconds to bolt for the door, but he didn’t. Instead, he watched the light shut off and the door open.

Sasuke was adjusting the cuff of his black, collared shirt when he came out and paused when he realized he wasn’t alone. He looked up and into Naruto’s eyes, and the only indication that he was shocked by his presence was his stilled movements.

A second passed before Naruto cleared his throat, “Hey.”

“Why are you up here?” Sasuke asked instead of reciprocating and looked down to straighten the other cuff.

Naruto shrugged, because Sasuke’s tone didn’t suggest that he was at all bothered by his presence. “I was curious, Plus, there’s a lot going on down there. Needed to step away.” And possibly he wanted to find Sasuke, but wasn’t ready to admit that just yet. It was the restaurant all over again, dammit. 

“So you snoop around someone else’s home?” Sasuke said and Naruto bit his lip instead of responding. Sasuke finished what he was doing with his sleeve, and then looked over at the loveseat. Naruto followed his eyes and noticed the two ties that were thrown over the back of the seat.

Sasuke walked over and picked them both up. He held them up to Naruto and Naruto fought his lips not to smile. He narrowed his eyes at them instead as if he was in serious thought. One was a solid steel blue; the other was gray and patterned. He pointed at the gray one. 

Sasuke smirked and shrugged, then tossed the blue one back and walked the gray one over to a vanity placed by the bathroom. Naruto stepped closer, but not too close. The music was still playing and Naruto didn’t know if he wanted to turn it off or turn it up to cover the shared silence. 

Sasuke leaned into the mirror and began putting the tie around his neck when he spoke again, “I hate these parties.”

Naruto chuckled and shifted his weight before he responded, “There’s way too many people down there.”

Sasuke turned to give Naruto a look over his shoulder. “It’s only just starting,” he said flatly and Naruto could almost sense the desperation there. Sasuke looked back at his reflection and flicked the tie through the loop.

Naruto silently watched him until Sasuke turned to him again. His tie was on and looking just as pristine as the rest of his outfit. Sasuke was sleek in his all black, save for the tie. The way his hair fell down his face was dangerously handsome, and Naruto wondered if he’d put something in it to make it look like that.

Sasuke eyed him, and must have noticed the way Naruto was staring because he smirked and Naruto glared at him for it.

“Do you think visiting me in my bedroom is a good start to wanting to be friends, Naruto?” Sasuke asked, tilting his head and looking as arrogant as the words that came from his mouth. 

Naruto pursed his lips and looked away, “It’s not like I was visiting you. I heard the music.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that, “So you heard the music from downstairs?”

Naruto flushed, but didn’t immediately respond for fear of what he’d end up accidentally saying. He looked back and into Sasuke’s eyes again, and they were full of amusement that didn’t quite show on the rest of his stoic face. 

Naruto crossed his arms and shrugged, “I already said I was curious.”

Sasuke nodded then, knowing something but not willing to let Naruto in on the secret. He walked up to Naruto and Naruto stiffened, his back straight and the muscles in his neck flexing. Sasuke stopped a few inches away and simply stared down at Naruto with a smirk that Naruto wanted to rip right from his face.

“Wh-what?” Naruto stammered out when Sasuke didn’t make any indication that he would speak first.

Sasuke continued to stare. Then, after a moment, scoffed and looked away, though didn’t put any distance between them. He shook his head and muttered, “Yeah right.” Naruto wasn’t sure if it was to him or if Sasuke was saying that to his self.

Naruto’s narrowed his eyes at him and Sasuke looked back. Naruto opened his mouth to ask what Sasuke was mumbling about. But then, Sasuke reached forward, tilted his chin up and pressed their lips together.

Naruto was too surprised by the pressure to move away, and when he finally did get his bearings that logical thought had already flown out the window. Sasuke’s hand on his chin went around to the back of his neck, and simultaneously Sasuke tilted his head to deepen the kiss. 

For a moment, Naruto allowed his self be completely absorbed by Sasuke. The heat of his body, the smell of his Versace cologne, the way he held onto Naruto with heavy, demanding, rough hands; it was all far too intoxicating. The heat that built up around them was so intense; Naruto thought he was going to melt. It was like he was waiting for this, craving it since he’d stepped foot in this Godforsaken mansion. 

“Sasuke, how long are you—“

They pulled apart with a light smack and Naruto could feel his whole body heat up. He didn’t want to turn around to see who it was, because he already knew.

Sasuke stepped back and rubbed at his moistened lips with the back of his hand while his eyes shifted from Naruto to the shocked expression on his wife’s face. 

“Oh…” Karin said, both hands on the door, one foot in, one foot out as if time had stopped for her. 

Naruto closed his eyes, because he wasn’t sure what to expect. His stomach was hurting again and his heart felt like it weighed a ton the way it pounded at his chest, threatening to break through his ribcage and spill out onto the carpet in front of him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and bearing with me. I'm excited to see how you'll all respond after the long wait!! 
> 
> The story is coming close to it's end. I wonder if any of you know what's coming next~ Look forward to "The Storm" (and hehe, I couldn't help myself). 
> 
> Until then!! xoxox


	12. The Storm

Karin’s eyes shifted between Naruto and Sasuke, slow and calculatingly. 

Naruto felt torn. His brain was screaming for him to run, but his body wouldn’t move. He couldn’t even muster the strength to speak, or scream (is what he’d prefer right about now). Sasuke’s breathing was even, though Naruto could tell by the tightness in his jaw that he was feeling the rising tension as well.

But Karin just stood there for a moment, as if she was piecing things together. It was the most unnerving feeling Naruto had ever undergone. It was so like that moment a year ago, when he’d walked in on Neji and Kiba, and had frozen for what felt like an eternity. Time had stopped. And at this moment, it was happening again. 

The building anxiety was getting to be too much. After a full minute passed, Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

But, Karin beat him to it. “Honey,” she said in a rigid and cold voice. Her eyes locked with Sasuke, and Naruto could feel his heart drop. Then, to his surprise, she smiled brightly, “If you take too long up here, people will think you’re dead. Dinner’s starting in ten, so hurry your ass up.” She blew them a kiss, then slipped out of the room. She closed the door behind her, and Naruto could swear the way it snapped shut was a bit harsher than normal, but it was hard to tell. 

Once she was gone, they stood there looking at the closed door for a long while. Naruto felt his muscles relaxing, returning his failed mobility. He took a few steps away from Sasuke, before he could manage to look at him. 

Naruto cleared his throat before he spoke, “We should go downstairs, like she said.” God, those words felt so awkward. But, Sasuke simply nodded, so Naruto didn’t feel too bad about it. The whole situation was confusing and uncomfortable. He’d expected some sort of tantrum, or to be cursed out at the very least. Even with the cold stare she’d given him for that solid minute, the way she smiled in the end was eerily unexpected. It made him feel more on edge than had she just let him have it as he’d assumed she would. 

Sasuke was also looking a bit pale, but he didn’t have anything to say. He walked past Naruto, following his wife out the door and making Naruto feel incredibly empty. 

He swallowed, shuffling his feet to get his blood pumping again. His heart was steadily calming down; even as his brain struggled to keep up with the situation he was currently in.

She’d definitely seen them kissing. The coldness in her eyes while she smiled at them was chilling, haunting even, and it was hard to know if that would be the end of it. But Sasuke had left, and now Naruto was standing uncomfortably alone in the large room. The enka music was still playing; it sounded eerie now. He didn’t bother shutting the record player off once he’d willed himself to walk out the room.

 

* * *

 

He followed the same dark path he’d used to get to Sasuke’s room, and found the door he’d slipped through that led to the party.

Once inside, he wiped his sweaty palms on his slacks and scanned the room, half looking for Sakura and his father, and half looking for someone else. 

He was startled out of his gazing when a hand pinched him.

“Ah,” he winced and turned to look into Sakura’s fuming eyes. 

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Uh,” Naruto’s eyes shifted, trying to remember what his excuse had been. “Bathroom,” he said quickly, obviously having thought hard about that answer.

Sakura’s glare hardened. “Oh, yeah right,” she scoffed and crossed her delicate arms. “You looked for him, didn’t you?”

Naruto looked away, unable to immediately answer.

“Naruto…” she shook his arm this time.

“Hey, where’ve you been?” Naruto looked up to see his father approaching them with a half empty glass of wine. His weathered eyes shifted between the two of them full of concern.

“I just needed some air,” Naruto answered this time, trying his best to still his rattled nerves. The way Sakura’s eyes bore into him wasn’t doing him any favors.

“I can’t believe you…” Sakura grumbled.

“Believe what?” Minato questioned, eyebrows rising curiously. 

Naruto sighed, “Sakura please.” 

She finally let go of his arm and crossed them over her chest once again. “What is it going to take to get it through your head?” She said in a harsh whisper. 

“What?” Naruto snapped, voice louder than he’d meant for it to be. But his heart was pounding now and his head ached. He was feeling anxious because Karin’s eyes were haunting him, and Sakura’s scolding was absolutely not what he needed right then. “You want me to admit that I’m a fucking wreck? Is that it?” He seethed, stepped towards Sakura. A few guests peeked their way, but they ignored them. 

“Naruto, hey. What’s gotten into you?” Minato cut in, placing a hand on Naruto’s shoulder to calm him a bit.

Sakura held her ground, and in fact, took a step to Naruto as if she was prepared to strike him, “That would be great, Naruto. Then you could see that you’re acting like a total fucking idiot.” 

“Sakura?” Minato looked to the pink haired girl he’d known since she was five. He’d never heard her speak this way, and it was only adding to his confusion.

“Fine! I know I’m a complete idiot. But Sakura, I’m tired of you acting like my mom. You’re fucking not.”

“No! I’m not; I’m your friend, you jackass. I’m tired of seeing you hurt yourself.”

“Well news flash! I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions.”

“Oh, sure, and that’s worked out so well for you.” 

“You guys,” Minato tried to ease the situation, but neither seemed to hear him. It wasn’t helping that the people around them were growing more curious.

“I wouldn’t know, would I? You’re constantly trying to make me feel like shit every step of the way.”

“You think I’m the one making you feel like shit?” Sakura laughed and shook her head at this. “That’s great Naruto, really great. Ever think you feel like shit because you’re sleeping with a married man? Ever think you feel like shit because you’re too desperate to believe that any of it is your fault?” She said this with a bite that stung Naruto more than he’d admit. She bit her lip, and for a moment she wanted to take it back, but Naruto’s next words hit her much harder.

“Fuck you, Sakura.” Naruto said, and he knew he shouldn’t have.

Sakura’s mouth fell open. Her head moved back as if she’d been slapped. Her eyes wavered, and for a moment, Naruto thought she might cry. Her expression squeezed at his chest. 

“Go to hell,” she whispered, then turned sharp on her heel and marched away, likely towards the exit. 

Naruto watched her go with the weight of regret eating him from the inside. He stomped his foot and cursed, turning away from her retreating back as he mentally beat himself up.

“Naruto,” Minato’s voice pulled him back to the reality, and the crowd of guests shamelessly muttering about the squabble that had just taken place.

Naruto looked at his father helplessly. He wanted to chase after Sakura, but he was somehow unable to get his legs to move. He opened his mouth to explain things to his father when the sharp ‘tink’ of a spoon against a glass called everyone’s attention.

Everyone turned and shifted to get a look at the hostess standing above all on a stage that appeared to have been raised from the ground. She really looked magnificent in that red dress, yet looking up at her above everyone else only brought a terrible feeling to the pit of Naruto’s stomach. 

The muttering in the crowd died down and the lulling music was muted. She reached down and accepted the microphone one of the workers handed up to her. She stood with her back straight and a brilliant smile brightening her face.

“Hello everyone!” Karin began, waving an arm out to the crowd. “I’m so happy to have you all in our home. Thank you for coming out, I know some of you traveled far. By now I’m sure you’re all tired of the hors d’oeuvres and are ready for a real meal. I’m happy to announce it’s finished being prepared. In a moment we’ll all move into the dining room to enjoy a great meal together!”

She paused and allowed the crowd to cheer and toast their glasses up at her. She nodded sweetly. It was then that it felt like her eyes caught Naruto’s and a wicked grin spread across her face. In a second she’d looked away, and Naruto wasn’t sure if he’d imagined the look all together.

“Before that, I’d like to give a special thanks to my husband.” She gestured to her right and Naruto was barely able to see his dark head above everyone else’s in the crowd. They clapped and Sasuke turned to them with a polite smile that looked more like a sneer to Naruto. “He’s such a great man. I must say, I’m very lucky to have him.” She said over the clapping. As the noise settled down she went on, “I bet you all didn’t know, but he’s actually a bit of a fag.”

Naruto’s heart sank. 

“Oh God,” he whispered.

Naruto wasn’t the only one shocked. The crowd erupted in a fit of gasps and mumbles. But, Karin wasn’t done.

“In fact, did you all know that my husband likes to fuck men more than he likes to fuck me? Hell, I don’t even remember the last time we had sex. Do you remember, honey?” Karin looked to Sasuke and so did Naruto. He was completely shocked. His dark eyes were narrowed and his skin was red underneath the collar. Naruto could tell even from this distance that he was seconds from exploding. Karin shrugged, “No big deal though. I’m used to it.” She said to the crowd. Some people laughed, while others couldn’t contain their gossiping lips. Some looked to Sasuke, while others were enraptured by Karin’s vulgar speech. “But you know what’s really fucking out of this world? Out of all the men in Japan for my dear husband to fuck, he chose my cute little nephew. Where are you, Naruto? You’re still here, right?” She stretched in her heels to look through the crowd.

Both Naruto and Minato sunk in on themselves. Minato looked to his son, “Naruto?” He whispered, wanting answers. Naruto looked to him, and the distraught in his eyes was absolutely heartbreaking.

“There he is!” Karin called out, pointing gleefully in their direction, causing all eyes to turn and land on the two blondes. “My nephew, Naruto. Cute, isn’t he? Tell me Sasuke, is his ass as tight as I imagine it is?” She looked to her husband. 

Naruto looked away, unable to take this anymore. His heart was down to his feet. He couldn’t breath. All these people were looking at him, some disgusted, some humored. He hated it. He needed to get out of there.

So he did.

He turned and ran.

Karin watched him go, eyes bright until he’d left the room. They faded into a dull passiveness, her mouth turned downwards and her shoulders sank. She looked back to Sasuke. He was staring at her like he wanted to take her head off. Sarada was at his side, confused and sucking on her fingers. Karin thought for a moment that Sasuke would leap onto the stage and drag her down. But he didn’t. He stood there, glaring at her until she could feel it chill her bones. Then, as the guests began filling the room with loud gossip, Sasuke walked away towards the door Naruto left through.

 

* * *

 

Naruto had run out of breath by the time he’d gotten out the mansion and down the driveway. It was packed with cars and dark. He didn’t know what to do. He needed to get far away, but there was nowhere to go without his father with him. 

He stopped at the bottom of the hill, letting out deep breaths to calm his rapid beating heart. He straightened and wiped his wet cheeks with the cuff of his sleeve just as more tears slipped through.

Christ, he couldn’t stop. 

He felt like he’d been stabbed and the knife wouldn’t stop fucking twisting. He wanted a cigarette. He wanted one so badly, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d purchased a pack.

He patted around his pockets, only finding his keys and wallet. He grabbed his hair with both hands and tightly shut his eyes in an attempt to get his shit together. It wasn’t working. 

“Naruto.” A voice, too familiar, called to him.

Naruto dropped his arms and looked over his shoulder to see Sasuke standing a few paces behind him. He sneered, turning completely and revealing his tear-stained face to the cause of it all.

Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath, but otherwise looked as unaffected as ever.

Naruto laughed sadly and wiped his cheeks again, “What? Come here to land the final blow?”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, but it was apparent that his anger wasn’t towards Naruto or the words. He looked to the side for a moment, possibly thinking of what to say to that, then back at Naruto, “I’m sorry.”

Naruto breathed out another laugh, “Sorry?” He ran a hand through his hair and laughed some more. “Oh geez, Sasuke, why are you sorry?” He barely registered the distant strike of thunder. 

Sasuke shrugged a shoulder, “You didn’t deserve that.”

Naruto shook his head, “I think I did.”

“Well you’re wrong,” Sasuke countered and his tone made it hard to argue. The pittering of light rain started up, both ignored it. 

“I’m such a fucking idiot,” Naruto grumbled, closing his eyes because Sasuke’s intense gaze was too much at the moment. “Of all the people in Japan…” he mimicked Karin’s words and opened his eyes again. After a second or so, he turned them on Sasuke again, “I had to fall for you. How sick is that?”

For the first time, Sasuke looked genuinely startled. His mouth fell open a fraction, and his eyes were a centimeter wider than usual. He stepped up to Naruto and stopped when he was only a foot away. 

“Is that right?” Sasuke asked honestly, and Naruto looked away again. Sasuke scoffed and looked away, running a hand through his hair this time. “It wasn’t supposed to be more than a little fun. Something to pass the time,” he said in a voice that made Naruto’s heart squeeze. It was painful to hear, but it was the truth Naruto had known for a long time.

“I know,” Naruto said, even as tears spilled from his eyes once again. Another lightening strike, and suddenly the soft rain turned into the harsh burst of a heavy shower.

“I didn’t want to stop,” Sasuke admitted, speaking loudly over the noise of rain. The admission shocked Naruto.

His blue eyes reached Sasuke’s again, and there was something strange there. He could barely see it through the thick raindrops. More thunder came, yet they remained unmoving. Soaked now, Naruto nearly closed the distance between them with his next step. 

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, grabbing Sasuke’s wet sleeve with a tight fist.

More thunder.

Sasuke continued to stare down at him, and Naruto swallowed. What did he want to hear? Naruto wasn’t sure. But his eyes were searching for something in Sasuke. He knew there was something, but he couldn’t rely on a guess. He needed to hear it from Sasuke’s lips.

“Naruto!” Sakura’s voice sliced the moment in half.

They looked to the pink haired girl doing her best to jog to them in her heels. She spared Sasuke a glance that might have been a glare, then looked to Naruto. It was clear that she was still pissed about their argument, but the haggard look in her eyes kept Naruto from bringing it up.

He slowly let go of Sasuke’s sleeve and stepped up to Sakura, “What’s wrong?”

She held up her cellphone, “Hinata just called. It’s about Neji.”

“Neji?” Naruto questioned, thrown because it all felt like it was coming out of nowhere. “What about him?”

“Naruto… we have to go.”

 

* * *

 

_Six years ago…_

School had just started up again two weeks prior. Soccer tryouts were that day. 

“Dude! Why the hell are you wearing that?” Kiba, a first year in high school looked down at his best friend, embarrassed as he approached his locker. The blond idiot was wearing a bright orange t-shirt and matching knee-length basketball shorts. To top it off, he had on a blue headband with orange trimming to complete the look. His outfit was so bright, Kiba felt himself compelled to squint in order to see him properly.

Naruto was shamelessly grinning at him as he watched Kiba grab a couple books from his locker. He rubbed a tanned finger under his nose in a mock show of modesty. “It’s my outfit for try-outs. Duh,” Naruto rolled his eyes. Kiba closed his locker then turned to his friend. A part of him wanted to save his friend from embarrassment, another part of him wanted to burst out into a fit of laughter.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at him, settling his debate with an attempt at being serious. “You’re not going to wear that all day, are you?” he asked. 

Naruto’s eyebrows scrunched together at this, “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Dude,” Kiba hated to sound like a rule book, but… “You know you’re gonna get in trouble the second a teacher sees you out of uniform.”

Naruto rolled his eyes, “That’s because they don’t know what true fashion is.”

Kiba sighed and was about to break down all the things about fashion that Naruto clearly didn’t understand when a boisterous voice cut in.

“Naruto!” The pair looked over to see Rock Lee heading their way. “Your outfit, Naruto!” he continued. “It’s amazing! Striking, like the light of the sun!” Naruto grinned at Lee’s exaggerated compliment. 

Kiba couldn’t help but laugh this time. “Please,” he stopped to breathe. “Do not give him that much encouragement.”

Naruto pouted and stuck his tongue out at him. “Bite me.” Naruto then turned his nose up and spoke in a snobbish tone, “I can understand why you’re mad. You don’t have to take it out on me and Lee, just because you don’t have a much more _refined_ sense of style.” Kiba felt his eyebrow twitch.

“You brat.” Kiba growled. “There’s a difference between being a flashy moron and having a _sense of style_.” 

Naruto was about to say more, but the school bell stopped him. It was time for class. “Oh shit, my class is on the other side of the building!” Naruto patted Lee on his shoulder. 

“See you Lee,” he flicked his middle finger up at Kiba. “Later dick!” 

Kiba shook his head, but despite the insult, he grinned at his blond friend and stuck his middle finger up in return.

 

* * *

 

At the other end of the school Naruto rushed down the hall to get to his class on time.

At the last second, he found the door to his homeroom and skid to a stop. He threw the sliding door open and was met with thirty sets of staring eyes. His sensei, Iruka Umino, was staring with his mouth open at his tardy student. The rest of the class was giggling at his dramatic entrance. Even his friend Sakura, who was sitting in the front of class next to his empty seat, looked both amused and embarrassed for him.

There was a boy standing up in front of the class by Iruka’s desk. It was someone Naruto had never seen before, but looked a lot like someone he knew. He was a tall, taller than him at least, and had an extremely handsome face. His hair was long and brown, and his eyes… 

“Naruto,” Iruka seethed, breaking Naruto’s short staring contest with the new mystery boy. “What are you wearing?” 

Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned. The class continued to giggle amongst themselves. “It’s my good luck outfit for tryouts.” 

Iruka’s veins were starting to show on his neck and his face was growing red. Iruka knew Naruto from elementary and middle school. He lived next door to the Uzumaki’s and wasn’t ignorant to their son’s way of pranking. With how smoothly the first two weeks of Naruto’s high school career had gone, Iruka had hoped those pranking days were over. 

To confirm his thoughts, “Naruto. I hope that you’ve had a sudden lapse of brain activity and that this isn’t your way of pranking.” 

Naruto held up his hands and shook his head. “No, really! It’s for tryouts!”

“Sports tryouts do not exempt you from the dress code.”

Naruto grumbled defiantly and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, the rules are stupid. It’s just an outfit.”

“Just an outfit?”

“Yeah.”

Iruka was fuming. The student’s heads were moving between their irritated sensei and their ignorant blond classmate. Sakura put her hand over her face, now fully immersed in her embarrassment.

* * *

Naruto was sent to the nurse’s room to change into his gym uniform, since he hadn’t brought his school uniform at all that day.

By the time he’d gotten back into the classroom everyone had their noses down in their books and Iruka was lecturing on about Japanese history. He took his seat next to Sakura and was almost immediately slipped a note. He picked it up and unfolded it.

It read: **moron**

He crumpled the note and looked over at Sakura with a wide, uncaring grin. She smiled at him and shook her head, unable to deny how charming his stupidity was.

After class Iruka gave Naruto a ten-minute lecture about the dress code in the teacher’s lounge, causing him to be late to his next class and receive another lecture about tardiness.

By the time lunch came around Naruto was exhausted. He stood by the food stand, ordering his usual instant cup of ramen when Kiba walked up and stood beside him.

“I see your days as the _light of the sun_ are over,” Kiba said, sounding like he wanted to laugh again.

Naruto huffed and shook his head. The woman behind the counter handed him his cup of steaming noodles and he gave her a short bow in thanks. He turned to Kiba with his head down and spoke, “Confiscated until after school.” He sounded genuinely depressed and it almost made Kiba feel bad.

“Yeah well, I hate to say I told you so.” Kiba ordered his usual yakisoba bun and accepted it with a nod and smile.

“Yeah, but you’re going to anyway, aren’t you?” They began walking towards the hall to get to the roof where his friends ate lunch. 

“Of course,” Kiba grinned. “I told you so, and you’re an idiot in the first place for doing it.”

Naruto elbowed Kiba’s side playfully and laughed. “You’re a real dick, you know that?”

Kiba looked up. “Yeah,” he looked down at Naruto with that same grin. “I know.”

Laughing and chatting about whatever came to mind, they made it to the roof and were greeted by his circle of friends. Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee, Ino, Sakura, Hinata and… 

“You.” Naruto pointed at the student whose name he’d never learned since he was sent out of class in the middle of his supposed introduction. “You’re the guy from my homeroom.”

“Yeah, that’s Hinata’s cousin, Neji. He just transferred here from a school in Tokyo.” Sakura answered for him. Hinata nodded in confirmation.

“Oh wow, really?” Naruto grinned. He held out his hand for Neji to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Neji looked down at the hand, then up at Naruto’s bright expression. “Yes,” He grabbed hold of Naruto’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. “The pleasure is all mine.” Naruto stared into Neji’s lavender eyes and for some reason he felt his cheeks getting hot.

Everyone continued to talk around them. Naruto realized then that he was still holding onto Neji’s hand and somehow he’d gotten lost in the moment.

“Ack!” Naruto yanked his hand away, and sat down. His face was beet red now, and he did his best to hide by digging into his cup of noodles. “So,” Naruto looked up again once the embarrassing moment passed, and asked, “You came from Tokyo? Why’s that?” 

It seemed Hinata was listening in, because she quickly interjected, “Uh, N-Naruto! Neji is staying with my family right now.”

“Oh yeah?” Naruto looked over at Hinata and she was giving him this strange look. Even to him, it was clear that this wasn’t a subject he should pry into.

“I heard you came to school looking like a starburst, huh Naruto?” Chouji said and Naruto turned to him with a grin.

“I came wearing my lucky uniform!”

Shikamaru scoffed. “Lucky? You don’t mean that ugly orange outfit you wore on the first day of tryouts in middle school, do you?” 

Naruto gasped. “Ugly?” He put a hand on his chest, pretending to be wounded. “I’ll have you know, I’ve never lost a game in that outfit.”

Kiba looked at Neji and the girls and added for clarification, “He wears that outfit underneath the school regulated one during games.” 

Ino scrunched up her nose, “That’s so gross, Naruto.”

Naruto stuck out his tongue at her. “You’re gross.”

Ino fumed comically, “You little dork!” 

Sakura shook her head, “Doesn’t that make you hot while you play?” 

Naruto shrugged, “It’s worth it in the end.”

Kiba laughed at this, “Yeah right! It’s just a uniform. You’ll grow out of it someday anyway.”

“Then I’ll get a new one.”

“Hopefully one that’s easier on the eyes,” Shikamaru added.

“You guys are crazy. Orange is the color of success!” Naruto huffed and turned away with his nose turned up at them.

“Not to mention the color of throw up.” Kiba chimed in. they all laughed except Naruto who glared and raised his middle finger up at him.

Choosing to ignore him after that, Naruto turned to Neji with innocent eyes and asked, “Do you like sports, Neji?” 

Neji paused. He was eating a sandwich when everyone’s attention turned to him. After a moment he answered, “Yes.”

Naruto’s eyes brightened. He placed his noodles aside and pumped his fists, “So you’re gonna tryout for the soccer team, right?”

“Uh…” Neji haltered, thrown by Naruto’s sudden enthusiasm. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

Naruto’s eyebrows furrowed, and his posture deflated. “Aren’t you any good?” 

Neji scoffed, a haughtiness that wasn’t there before overcame him, “I’ll have you know that I was the top scorer at my last school.”

Naruto grinned, matching his confidence. “Then what are you afraid of?” 

Neji’s eyes narrowed at him, but there was a certain playfulness there that Naruto didn’t miss.

“Fine.” Neji nodded, unable to back down from such a challenge. “But don’t be upset if I end up being far better than you.” 

“Oh shit,” Kiba cut in. “You know Neji, Naruto was the captain of our middle school soccer team.” 

Naruto grinned, looking overconfident. 

“That’s right,” Chouji said next, “But he was always pulling pranks in school so he got demoted pretty quickly.” Everyone laughed once again except Naruto, who crossed his arms and pouted. 

“That’s only because nobody has a sense of humor these days!” Naruto argued. 

Kiba slapped a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry dude, you still got to play and we still kicked ass.”

“Yeah, and if it makes you feel any better, having Lee replace you as captain was such a drag.” Shikamaru groaned and everybody laughed again.

“I’ll have you know, my training regimen was unmatched!” Lee declared, sounding proud.

“Yeah,” Kiba chuckled, “And it nearly injured half the team.” 

Naruto groaned at the memory as he spoke, “Why the hell did you make us do handstands, anyway? It’s not like we can play soccer with our hands.” He winced when he remembered how sore his body was that day.

Lee stood, looking flashy and confident as he spoke. “Naruto! I’m glad you asked.”

“Oh god,” Shikamaru grumbled, knowing what was coming next.

“Handstands do not only work the arms, but the lower back and thigh muscles as well!” Lee gave them all a thumb up and impressively flipped backwards onto his hands. “You see,” he struggled to say as he balanced himself. “There is more to it… than just the arms.” Lee wobbled around, but was steady nonetheless. He was, however, wobbling a little too close to everyone’s food. 

“Wait Lee,” Sakura tried to stop him, but it was a little too late. 

Lee’s hand landed on Hinata’s cream pastry, causing him to slip and knock over Naruto’s cup of noodles which splashed over Neji and Naruto’s legs right before crashing onto the floor and thankfully not landing on anyone.

“Ugh,” Lee groaned in pain. Everyone got up to clean up the mess. Sakura was kneeled down beside Lee’s head chewing him out while Hinata tried to calm her down. Naruto looked over at Neji who was looking down at his ruined pants. Naruto then looked down at his own pant leg and saw that there was some ramen juice on him as well.

“Eh…” Naruto said and looked back to Neji. “I’m gonna walk down and try to clean myself up. You coming?” Neji looked up at him and nodded.

They left the group with a quick explanation that they were going to the bathroom and short goodbyes.

They went down the stairs to the classroom building and made their way into the boy’s room. The silence was a little awkward between them. They didn’t say a word as they went to the sinks. Naruto cupped some water in his hand and splashed it down on his pant leg, then proceeded to rub at the stain. Neji watched him do so and shook his head. 

“You’re only making it worse.” He commented, pointing down at the enlarged wet spot.

Naruto pulled his hand away to examine and was sad to see that Neji was right. 

“Shit,” he cursed under his breath. 

Neji walked over to the paper towel dispenser and grabbed a few. He took them over to Naruto and bent down in front of him. Naruto’s face immediately flushed a bright red.

“Uh, N-Neji… what are you doing?” Naruto asked and Neji looked up at him from his kneeled position, and then looked back down at the wet spot on Naruto’s leg. 

“If you rub it, it’ll only make the stain get bigger. So you should dab it instead.”

Naruto looked away, his fifteen-year-old mind producing perverted images that he really shouldn’t be thinking of at a time like this. Neji grabbed Naruto’s leg with a firm hand and used the other to press the towels against the wet spot. Naruto felt himself twitching at the touch. 

“H-hey, Neji. Sh-shouldn’t I just do it myself?” Naruto looked up, unable to meet Neji’s eyes.

Neji stopped his movements and smiled to himself. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. My apologies.”

When Neji let go and stood up, Naruto let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.

When they were both standing eye to eye, Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked away with a shy chuckle. 

“Naruto.” Neji said, and Naruto found that he was unable to stop himself from looking back. “Your eyes.”

“What about them?” Naruto said through an uncontrollable swallow. 

Neji reached out and touched Naruto’s cheek. “They’re beautiful.”

 

* * *

 

_Present day…_

Naruto and Sakura burst through the hospital doors with a symphony of wet slapping steps against the sanitized linoleum.

They were at the front desk in seconds. Sakura spoke first, “Hey Hitori-san,” she did her best to smile at the woman in scrubs sitting there, and the woman smiled back, but looked concerned nonetheless. 

“Sakura-san, you’re here to see a patient?” she asked, taking in their wet-dog appearance. 

Sakura quickly nodded, catching her breath after having run from the car to this section of the hospital. Minato was just walking up to the desk to join them when she explained, “Neji Hyuuga is his name. He’s in the ICU third floor.” 

The woman, Hitori, typed the name into her computer and squinted her eyes at the screen.

“He’s there,” she confirmed, and the three of them let out a mixture disheartened breaths. “But, Sakura-san, you know visiting hours are over for all non-family members and there’s only one name in the special case notes and it’s Ki—.”

“Save us the speech,” Naruto cut in, “We need to see him. Please,” he pleaded, but Hitori wasn’t very impressed.

She shook her head at him, “I’m sorry, but I can’t break the rules.” She turned to Sakura, “Sakura-san, you can go up, but as for your friends… I’m sorry, but you know…”

“Hitori!” Sakura cut her off this time, and Hitori appeared genuinely startled. “Please.” She tried and the woman visibly wavered.

 

* * *

 

The three took the elevator up to the third floor. Sakura had rushed off to change out of her soaked dress and into a set of scrubs. She met them to ride up together.

Once at the designated floor, they followed Sakura down the hall, her knowing the way well enough to find the room quickly enough. There they saw Hinata standing and dabbing a cloth to her cheek. She looked up as they approached, and Naruto wasn’t sure if his heart could take it. 

“Naruto, Sakura, Uncle,” Hinata addressed the three of them with a meek bow. Naruto wasn’t able to control himself. He immediately enveloped her into a tight embrace.

Sakura approached the door while Naruto consoled Hinata. He’d pulled away and was brushing away her tears with his thumbs. He said something to her in a low voice and she nodded appreciatively. Meanwhile, Sakura’s eyed the clipboard outside the door. She went over and pulled it out the slot, revealing the chart clipped to it.

Above the medical readings and vital signs notes, it read in bold letters:

**NEJI HYUUGA: ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA**

**STAGE FOUR - REFUSING TREATMENT**

Minato stood over her shoulder and read the words to himself before speaking, “Oh God,” he muttered and Sakura looked over at him. 

“Naruto,” Sakura said, and Naruto looked from Hinata to Sakura’s worried eyes. 

He looked back at Hinata and stroked her arms while he spoke, “He’s in there?”

Hinata nodded and wiped away a rogue tear that slipped out. 

Naruto nodded back and kissed her forehead. He moved from her to the door. Without warning he pushed it open, unprepared for what he would see.

When he saw the way Neji looked laying under those white sheets, his heart sank for the thousandth time that night. He was paler than usual to the point where his skin looked bluish. His lips were dry and his eyes looked bloodshot. A machine ran a tube through his throat, an unsightly thing that was apparently helping him breathe. He’d slowly turned to look over at Naruto and gave him a weak smile. 

Sakura and Minato hung back outside the door as it was shut, understanding that Naruto would need that moment for himself. 

Kiba was there, however, sitting beside the hospital bed and unable to take his eyes off of Neji.

Naruto couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He’d just seen Neji a couple weeks ago. He’d looked fine, nothing like what he looked like now.

“What happened?” Naruto choked out the words. 

“It’s stage four leukemia.” Kiba answered for the room.

Naruto felt his heart sink further. He suddenly couldn’t breathe.

“What?” Naruto managed to say. “What are you talking about?” He covered his mouth, feeling his eyes burn with tears he wasn’t willing to shed. He’d already cried enough that night, after all.

Kiba shook his head and looked down again, seeming defeated. 

A tear that Naruto couldn’t keep in fell down his cheek. He walked closer to Neji and stared down at him. “What the fuck, Neji.”

“He um,” Kiba started to choke up as well, “He refused treatment a long time ago.”

Naruto’s eyes widened, “Why?” 

He was met with silence. It bit at his nerves. He clenched his fists at his sides and bared his teeth. 

“Why, Neji?” Naruto nearly barked.

Neji looked away.

“No! You answer me, dammit!” Once again, Naruto couldn’t control the tears anymore.

“Naruto,” Neji finally spoke for the first time. “I got diagnosed at stage 3 a few months ago. There was no recovering.” 

“You could have tried,” Naruto said through gritted teeth.

“Why?” Neji said and Naruto looked away that time, unable to respond. “I don’t want to burden my family with the expenses of trying to save a man who’s already dead.”

“That’s not true,” Kiba spoke up.

Neji shook his head at him, “Yes it is.”

Naruto’s fists shook at his sides, the emotions overcoming him were too much too soon. He took a deep breath and tried to sound calm as he spoke, “So you called me here so that I could watch you die?” He looked back at Neji. “Is that what you wanted?” More tears came out and his voice became shaky. “You think I’d want to see you like this? Fuck,” he laughed humorlessly. “The final blow, huh?” he said more to himself. He wondered how long this day planned on beating him, and if it wouldn’t stop until he was within an inch of his life.

First it’s Karin taking away any sense of dignity he might have had, and now this. He’d hated Neji for a year, hated him so much that it made him sick. And now, where did all that hate go? 

Neji smiled and it only served to further piss Naruto off. 

“What the hell. Do you think this is funny?” Naruto snapped.

Neji continued to smile and shook his head. “It’s not funny. It’s just that,” Neji sighed and looked up at the stark hospital ceiling. “I’m remembering the first time we met and how much I loved you almost immediately.”

Naruto looked at him, his anger washing away. Kiba looked away, hurt by his words, but not surprised by them. 

Neji continued, “I truly love you both, and I’m disgusted with myself for being so selfish and hurting you two.”

Naruto let out a dry laugh, sounding haughty while he spoke, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying that I wish things had been better.”

“Better…” Naruto mimicked, unsure if he was asking or simply letting the words sink in. Neji nodded either way.

“Do you hate me, Naruto?” Neji asked, now looking at the ceiling and appearing as though he was somewhere else.

Naruto swallowed, his bravado disappearing and being replaced with something else entirely. The man in the hospital bed was nothing like the one he’d known, loved and hated. No, this man was nothing like him. He was withered and yet, serene. It reminded him…

“I don’t hate you.” Naruto said, and again he felt those damned tears slipping out and wetting his cheeks.

Neji closed his eyes and laughed. It quickly turned into a fit of wheezing coughs, and Kiba stood to sooth him. When he managed to calm down he let out a relieved breath. “Well,” he said after a moment, “That’s good.”

 

* * *

 

Naruto left the hospital room and took in a deep breath. Inside where Neji was, the air was suffocating and stiff. But, outside of it, it wasn’t much better. Naruto could feel himself breathing hard. It was all coming back to him. Those days vising his mom in the hospital, she looked just like Neji. Her pretty complexion had turned pale and sickly. Over the year of her receiving treatment she’d lost all of her hair. The only thing she kept with her was her smile. It never seemed to die out, even when her body gave up on her.

He felt a heavy hand rubbing circles in his back and he knew it belonged to his father. Sakura crouched in front of him, and was instructing him on how to breathe. 

Naruto grabbed his chest, his eyes unable to stop watering. He was starting to hyperventilate.

Sakura continued to coach him in a reassuring voice, while a brown bag was shoved over his mouth. He was forced to breath through it. He closed his eyes and willed himself to regulate his breathing. 

When he felt stable again he opened his eyes and stood up straight. The bag was moved away and he was surprised to see the person holding it wasn’t his father or Sakura. All eyes landed on Kiba, standing there looking uncomfortable with the three pairs of eyes scrutinizing him.

“Sorry,” Kiba said, and went to throw the bag in a nearby trash. “I know you don’t like hospitals.” 

Naruto stared at him for a moment, collecting himself, then nodded.

Sakura and Minato looked to each other, and then left to give them privacy, this time choosing to check on Neji.

A moment passed where they were simply looking anywhere but at each other. Naruto wasn’t sure what to make of anything. It felt surreal, like he was in a dream, or nightmare, that just wouldn’t fucking end. And somehow, everything led to this moment, where they’d stand in this hospital corridor, haunted by the memories of how they’d gotten here.

It took a moment for Naruto to will himself to speak first. He gestured towards Neji’s room, “He’s been like that for months?” He still couldn’t believe it.

Kiba shook his head. “He was diagnosed a couple months back, but he only got this bad a couple days ago. He started getting weak and told me that he couldn’t move his legs.” Kiba looked down and shook his head, presumably to get rid of the memory.

“This is what you were going to tell me the other day? When you came to the apartment…”

Kiba nodded.

“Fuck,” Naruto shook his head. “Why didn’t you just say it?”

“Because,” Kiba sighed, “Because in the end, I knew he didn’t want me to.”

“That’s bullshit.” Naruto said through a sickening laugh. “He’s dying in there, and you couldn’t even give me a fucking clue?" 

“Naruto,” Kiba said in a warning, eyes closed and breathing hard. Naruto stopped, his temper falling and leaving behind a sad empty feeling.

For a while they just stood there after that. Even with the beeping of hospital machines, the shuffling of nurses in the hallway, the chattering of nearby visitors and patients, it felt incredibly silent.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! I know, this was sort of sad. Sorry to trigger anyone who was deeply affected by Neji's canon death xD 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update! I'll try to get my shit together and put the next chapter out soon. I hope you'll let me know what you all think>>
> 
> Until then~
> 
> P.S. I'm sorry I'm calling soccer, soccer, instead of football. I'm American and stupid, so I knew I'd confuse myself.


	13. Where You Belong

Twenty minutes later Sasuke walked back into his home. He didn’t care much that his drenched suit was ruining the mosaic flooring they’d paid a fortune for. The party room was mostly vacant, and the low hum of a crowd sounding from the large dining area told him that they’d all migrated, and were likely in the midst of stuffing their faces.

He walked up to the stage, hands deep in his wet pockets and eyes narrowed at the woman he’d married some years ago. He silently cursed that damned stage, having only agreed to have it built for these godforsaken parties Karin insisted on throwing.

She was sitting with her legs dangled over the edge three feet high off the ground. Her legs kicked at the air and the heel of her shoe was making an irritating, sharp, snapping noise against the side of the stage.

When he’d gotten only a few feet away, Karin stilled her movements and looked over at him. Sasuke wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see after the spectacle she’d made, but the insurmountable hurt in her eyes wasn’t quite it.

“You might not want to go in there,” she started and nodded her head at the double doors leading to the dining area. “They’re drudging up some pretty wild theories now. Gossip is a terrifying thing.” Her words started to sound distant, and Sasuke wondered for a moment what she’d started to think about.

He walked closer, and stopped to turn and lean his back against the stage. She looked away, and Sasuke didn’t look to her when he spoke, “Why did you do that?” The tone of his words made him appear even-tempered, void of the venom he’d stored up and coming out carefully instead. 

Karin closed her eyes and sighed, “Did I hurt your boyfriend’s feelings too much? I’ll make sure to send him an apology letter.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed at the floor, “He didn’t deserve that.”

“And I did?” She looked at him then, eyes wide and face showing unmasked disbelief. 

He turned his head and had attempted a cold look, but it was hard. “I didn’t say that.”

Karin shook her head and scoffed out a laugh that was in no way pleasant. “You are unbelievable,” she said while slipping off the stage and starting towards the dining area.

“Karin,” Sasuke called out once she had gotten only a few steps ahead. She stopped. He pushed off of the stage to stand up straight. He wasn’t sure what he’d wanted to say. 

Karin didn’t give him much time to think about it. 

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” She asked, not looking back at him, perhaps unable to.

Sasuke didn’t immediately respond.

She continued, “Why would you hide that from me? Haven’t I done enough for you to deserve your honesty?” 

Sasuke grit his teeth at the words, or more so at how true they were. It bit at his nerves. That pesky feeling of remorse he very seldom experienced was creeping up. 

“The way you two met,” Sasuke started, though was unsure of his words even as he was speaking them. “It didn’t feel like the right time or place to say the truth.” 

Karin finally turned to face him and her tear-stained face was a hard thing to look at and not crumble to the ground with regret. She was truly a beautiful woman. Were Sasuke not so stubborn, were he the average man, he would be compelled to sweep her off her feet and kiss those tears away. But they only served to squeeze at his heart.

“I have put up with so much from you, Sasuke. I have put up with being your ‘pretend’ girlfriend while you figured out your sexuality. I’ve married you, not only because of our families, but because I wanted to be by your side, even if you never loved me the way that I loved you. I had a beautiful daughter with you. I built this home with you. I didn’t complain when you bought that condo in the city. I didn’t question you when you’d spent more nights there than you did here. I didn’t whine or ask you to do anything that you wouldn’t want to do.

I stayed by your side, because that’s my duty as your wife. And—” she stopped to clear her drying throat. More tears were coming and she’d paid them no mind. After a moment, she finished through a choked sob, “that’s my duty, because you’re my best friend.” She sniffled and wiped her nose before her face could get too messy. “And I thought that I was yours. I trusted that you’d never do something to me that you knew would hurt this much.” 

Before Sasuke knew it, before his brain had told his body what to do, he was standing in front of Karin with his arms wrapped tightly around her. 

Karin’s next words, whatever they had meant to be, died in the back of her throat.

His hand found the back of her head and borrowed it into the crook of his neck. She was still in his arms, and uncomfortably because his body was still so cold and wet. Even so, she didn’t move away.

When was the last time he’d embraced her?

She closed her eyes and relented to the feeling. Her emotions were slowly settling, and her heart wasn’t threatening to beat straight through her chest as it was a moment ago.

“I am sorry, Karin,” Sasuke said in a low voice that was nearly a whisper. She was seconds away from asking him to repeat himself just to hear him say it again. But instead… 

“You’re never sorry,” she said in a tone that was almost joking. 

Sasuke’s lips curled up the tiniest bit, “There’s a first time for everything.” Karin chuckled then and it warmed Sasuke’s insides in a way he’d never thought Karin could.

Karin lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into Sasuke’s eyes. They were still centimeters apart, so without giving it much thought, she pushed up on her feet and pressed their lips together into an open-mouthed kiss. 

When was the last time they’d kissed? 

Karin remembered that one. Aside from her tendency to kiss his cheeks when they were out in public, their last real kiss was years ago. Hours after she’d pushed Sarada out and introduced her to the world, Sasuke had sat in the room with Karin in the hospital bed. She’d looked like a sweaty mess. He leaned over and kissed her so sweetly. At that moment, Karin had fallen in love all over again. 

This kiss wasn’t like most that they’ve shared. She wasn’t sure if Sasuke was indulging her because he felt guilty, or if a part of him wanted it too. He turned his head with hers, dipped his tongue into her mouth and bit at her lips as if he were really feeling it. 

But Karin wasn’t an idiot.

She pushed on his chest and pulled away. She licked her lips and huffed out the deep breath she wasn’t able to let out while they were locking lips. Sasuke looked completely unfazed, and it only made clear what Karin already knew.

“We need to get a divorce.”

 

* * *

 

A week later Neji passed away. Two days after that was his funeral. It was held in Ginza, where they all grew up.

Naruto didn’t say anything during the service. He couldn’t even bring himself to cry. There was nothing but numbness in his heart. Watching someone he had once loved so much being lowered into the ground, it made him feel sick. 

Minato stood beside him through the service. When people parted afterwards Minato hung back to make a visit to Kushina’s grave. 

After the service was the reception.

Everyone met back at the Hyuuga mansion, ushered in by doormen and catered to while they walked around and exchanged stories about the man that had died too young.

Naruto smiled when he was handed a glass of red wine. Cheval Blanc, Neji’s favorite. He remembered that from a date so long ago, at a restaurant he could barely remember and could never afford on his own. The bitter taste was smooth and expensive, and he’d only ever tasted it when he was with Neji.

“Naruto,” Shikamaru called to him, one hand raised in greeting as he approached with Temari by his side. Naruto had never really spoken with the blonde woman, which was made even weirder when he considered the fact that he had sort of been dating her brother. 

“Hey guys,” Naruto said, and lifted his drink a bit in his own way of greeting. He didn’t have the energy to do much else. “Have you seen Hinata?” Naruto asked and stretched up on his feet to scan the crowd. He hadn’t seen her since the service, and the mansion was so packed full of relatives, business associates and friends that her short, dark head of hair was easy to miss.

Shikamaru shook his head and looked off to the side, probably doing the same thing, “I got a glimpse of her a while ago. She’s probably busy running around and talking to everyone.” 

“Poor girl,” Temari said, and Naruto was a little surprised to hear her speak so affectionately. When had she even gotten remotely close to the Hyuuga’s? Then again, not too long ago Naruto’s only friend was his father and his father’s couch, so he didn’t think too hard about how he’d missed this. 

“Yo,” Chouji and Ino walked up to join their little group next. Ino’s eyes were red around the rims. It was clear that she’d been crying. 

“God, I hate funerals,” Ino grumbled and sniffled. 

Naruto smiled fondly at her, “Me too.” 

They looked over when they noticed another body approaching. Naruto smiled when he recognized Gaara’s face. He was looking very handsome in his dark green suit. 

“Hello,” Gaara spoke politely and gave them all a short bow. 

“Hey,” Naruto said before anyone else. When Gaara straightened, he walked over and pulled Naruto into a one-armed hug.

Temari’s nose scrunched at the action, “You were serious?” She asked, her head turning to Shikamaru. “They were really going out?”

Naruto overheard, and when he pulled away from Gaara he was blushing. He cleared his throat to speak, but Gaara spoke up first.

“Not really. Just a couple dates,” he said fondly and Naruto was once again reminded how handsome Gaara was when he smiled. It was such a shame that he couldn’t have fallen in love with a guy like him.

“So weird. Did you guys have sex? Is my brother any good at that type of stuff? He’s never been very emotional.” 

Naruto sputtered, though the other two men didn’t look fazed by her blunt statement. Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed, while Gaara looked mildly offended. 

“God, ‘Mari,” Shikamaru chided and Temari gave him a look that told him she was unbothered. 

“I wouldn’t know really. He is charming, though,” was the best answer Naruto could come up with. They really shouldn’t be talking about having sex at Neji’s funeral anyway.

“Right, charming. You don’t have to say more to my strange sister, Naruto,” Gaara said, lending him a helping hand out of this conversation that could quickly grow uncomfortable. Gaara caught sight of someone then, and nodded in their direction to get Naruto to look. “Isn’t that your friend?” he asked and Naruto finally did look.

Sakura was standing not too far from their group. Her black dress was long and form fitting. She looked beautiful in it, clutching her silver purse and smiling at something Lee was explaining with animated gestures.

Naruto took a long sip of his wine while he stared at the interaction. The last time he’d spoken to Sakura was at the hospital, but even that had been brief and to the point.

She hadn’t looked him in the eye since their argument at the Uchiha estate. It wasn’t until a few days afterwards that Naruto realized how badly he’d screwed up then. Sakura was right, and he shouldn’t have taken his frustration out on her. 

“Naruto?” Naruto shook his head, clearing his thoughts, then found Shikamaru’s eyes on him. When he turned he noticed Gaara and Temari were staring as well.

“Are you alright?” Gaara asked this time, and Naruto replied with a hesitant nod.

He realized that he wouldn’t get anywhere from just standing around. So, he thoughtlessly handed Gaara his drink and walked over. 

As soon as he was within a couple feet, Sakura paused her conversation and looked over at Naruto. He stiffened and clenched his fists nervously at his sides. 

“Hey,” he managed to say with an inkling of casualness. 

Sakura stared at him for a moment, silent and blankly taking in his sudden appearance. And then, her face split into a brokenhearted smile. Naruto could feel his insides melt. He returned her sad smile with a smile of his own. 

She handed her small, silver purse over to Lee and enveloped Naruto into a tight hug. Her small arms encircled his shoulders, while his wrapped securely around her petit waist. He had the urge to lift her up and spin her around, but he wouldn’t.

“I’m so sorry, Sakura,” Naruto said, then pulled away to see Sakura’s face threatening to spill more tears. They moved apart, detangling their limbs in order to recollect themselves.

She wiped the oncoming tears away as best as she could without ruining her makeup and shook her head. “No, you were right. I was being too pushy. I shouldn’t have meddled so much.”

Naruto shook his head back at her, “I shouldn’t have been so crazy. I wasn’t able to face what I was doing to myself. I was being an idiot.”

“Naruto, you weren’t being an idiot. You were just following your heart. I can’t blame you for that.” Those words did a thing to the pit of Naruto’s stomach. He wouldn’t think about it too much. 

“I took you for granted. I know you were just trying to help.” 

“I was being nosy. If anyone’s an idiot, it’s me.” 

“No, don’t say that. I was a total jackass.” 

“Naruto—”

“Oh my God, you are both total idiots and jackasses. Are you done?” Ino said, rolling her eyes with a big smile. The rest of the group moved over to join them as well. Naruto laughed and shook his head.

Ino and Sakura playfully argued over who was the real idiot. Gaara and Shikamaru had gotten into a strange conversation about thermo-nuclear technology. Temari wasn’t able to get away from Lee’s enthusiastic explanation about how to build muscles in your fingers. And Naruto, with his drink back in his hand, sipped at it silently, wishing for a moment that he could be somewhere else.

 

* * *

 

After leaving the reception, Naruto’s body had taken him where his mind knew he shouldn’t go. He went back into Tokyo and over to the fancy building where Sasuke lived. He didn’t bother changing out of his suit. 

He sat in front of the building in the cold, smoking through a pack of cigarettes and unbothered by the way the November air pinched his skin without a coat on.

After the first twenty minutes a man walked up to him. He didn’t bother to acknowledge his presence. “Excuse me sir, but you can’t sit here.” 

Naruto rolled his tired eyes and said, “You again?” but didn’t move. 

“Sir.” The bellman said more firmly.

“I’m waiting for someone.” Naruto looked up at the bellman and was about to say more when another voice spoke up. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Naruto looked over and saw Sasuke there standing in a long black coat. Naruto got up and threw his cigarette down, ignoring the way the bellman glared at him for it. 

“I was waiting for you.” _Because, my heart has been ripped out so many times in the past few days and you’re the only one I could think about that could do anything to patch it up, even if you’re the cause of a good amount of the damage. I’m obviously a masochist. I wanted to see you. I needed to see you._  

He wanted to say so much more.

“Hn,” Sasuke responded, but didn’t ask for Naruto to elaborate further. He was far more curious about the blonde’s attire: a suit that could only be worn on certain occasions. 

Naruto looked as if he’d been to hell and back. Sasuke doubted that Naruto was getting any backlash from Karin’s little stunt. They were lucky that they hadn’t allowed photographers at the party. Karin had always said they were too noisy. The papers didn’t even include Naruto’s name, only that Sasuke Uchiha was having sex with men and possibly with members of his wife’s family. If anyone should be haggard by the announcement, it would be Sasuke.

“Do you know this man, Uchiha-sama?” The bellman asked curtly only to receive a heated glare in response. The bellman took this as a “yes” and scurried back to his post without another word.

Sasuke walked towards the entrance and Naruto followed him. 

“How long were you waiting?”

Naruto shrugged. “Not long.”

When they got up to Sasuke’s condo, Sai greeted them. Sasuke handed his coat over to Sai as him and Naruto slipped their shoes off by the door.

Sasuke stared at Naruto as they made their way through his place to the living room. Naruto’s usually bright blue eyes were lacking in life. On top of that he looked pale and skinny like he hadn’t been eating much. 

“Sai, leave us.” Sasuke said and Sai nodded.

“Yes, of course.” Sai bowed and headed for the door. “Tomorrow then,” and then he left and it was just the two of them.

Naruto looked around, unsure of why he came here in the first place. He knew he didn’t want to go back to his apartment, or to his old home. He didn’t want to be around any of his friends. He just wanted…

“How’ve you been?” Naruto asked, derailing his own thoughts.

Sasuke didn’t respond right away. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head curiously at the question. As if _normal people_ didn’t ask that when meeting someone after a while.

“I’ve been fine,” Sasuke finally said, eyes still narrowed as if he were suspicious of Naruto’s motives.

Naruto shrugged, hands in his pockets and looking over at the TV. He remembered a couple weeks back when they sat on that couch for hours just to watch some silly American drama. He smiled to himself when he remembered Sasuke’s face back then.

“I saw the news.”

_Uchiha Adultery Scandal! Sasuke Uchiha, apparently homosexual, prefers men to his wife!_

He’d seen it the day after the dinner party, once he was home and trying to get the image of Neji out of his head. The urge to pick up the phone and call Sasuke was there, but even _he_ knew that was a stupid idea. 

Sasuke looked off, intent eyes staring at nothing. He took a moment to respond. “I’ve been fine,” he repeated, then lifted a hand to rub over his brow. “My company isn’t made up of just me, even if my stocks dropped twenty percent. On the other hand, I’ve been getting a lot of… calls from men.”

Naruto stared at him for a moment, then uncontrollable laughter shot from his chest and nearly spilled out his mouth. But he held it in with an ugly snort, and watched as Sasuke’s eyes sparkled with a bit of amusement. He let it out then, laughing and covering his mouth. “I bet you have,” Naruto finally said through his laughter. Then Sasuke chuckled a bit, and Naruto wished he wasn’t laughing so that he could’ve heard it more clearly.

When their shared laughter died down, they just stood in front of each other in silence. Naruto was unsure of what to say next, and Sasuke was waiting for Naruto to say more. Naruto fidgeted where he stood, because he was completely unprepared for this. He’d wanted to see Sasuke, and now that he was here he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. He just wanted to be somewhere else. He wanted to feel something other than this dreadful anguish he’d been feeling from the moment Karin got up on that stage, to this morning at the funeral. 

“Naruto.” Sasuke spoke, taking Naruto away from his thoughts.

“Yeah?” Naruto tried to smile, but he couldn’t, so he nodded instead.

Sasuke walked closer and Naruto was forced to look up into his dark eyes. “Why did you come here?” 

Why did he come? 

What else was he supposed to do?

“My ex boyfriend passed away,” the words spilled out before he could stop them. And yet, once they were out in the open, Naruto didn’t make a move to take them back. 

Sasuke eyes widened a fraction, but he didn’t speak. He had a feeling Naruto had more to say. 

“You remember, right? The dirty, cheating, lying bastard.” If the words were meant to be humorous, they came out a bit dry. Sasuke managed to offer a small nod, mostly to encourage Naruto to continue. “Well, he died of cancer a couple days ago. I just came from his funeral.” He explained, and then indicated his state of dress with a swoop of his hand. 

Sasuke thought about his words for a moment, his eyes roaming over Naruto. He noticed the dullness in his usually bright eyes, and the way his shoulders slumped the tiniest bit, as if he were too tired to stand up straight. He noticed that Naruto wouldn’t stop clenching his fists by his sides and that his right eye would twitch every now and then, like he was both dehydrated and sleep deprived. Sasuke looked at all this and sighed, “Why are you telling me this, Naruto?”

Naruto huffed and wrangled a hand through his messy hair. “I don’t know,” was his honest answer. And then he laughed, “I guess… I just wanted you to take it all away.” A scoff and a shake of his head, “It’s stupid… I know.”

Sasuke blinked at this, because for the first time Naruto was showing him a complete vulnerability that hadn’t been there before. This was Naruto. He’d somehow lost his spunk, his fire, and his fight. All of it was drained away one bit after the other. And here he is, flayed out before Sasuke’s eyes, looking like he was falling and in desperate need for someone, anyone, to catch him. Even if the person who catches him is the one who’d pushed him off the edge to begin with.

Naruto reached down and grabbed Sasuke’s hand. A small gasp was the only indication he’d gotten that Sasuke was at all surprised by the action. He lifted the hand and pushed it against his cheek. Sasuke didn’t move an inch. Naruto vaguely wondered how weird he looked in this moment, seeking comfort in Sasuke this way.

Naruto pushed closer until their bodies were touching. 

They were still staring at each other. At this distance, Sasuke could really see the sadness in Naruto’s eyes. Even so, he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Naruto pushed forward once more and completely closed the distance between them in a kiss. And this? It was so different that the sloppy, hurried, lustful kisses they’d previously experienced together. It was slow and purposeful. Naruto was on a mission, tasting every part of Sasuke, inhaling him and making it impossible for Sasuke not to do the same.

For once, Sasuke allowed Naruto to do all the work. He relaxed under Naruto’s touch and followed his lead.

Naruto shifted, and used one hand to unbutton Sasuke’s expensive shirt. With each button, he trailed his fingers down Sasuke’s chest, feeling each dip of each muscle, yet never breaking their slow kiss. He lapped and sucked at Sasuke’s lower lip, and could swear he heard something close to a whimper come from the older man. He knew if he asked about it, Sasuke would deny him, so instead he pocketed the noise for later. 

Once he was at the final button, he used both hands and slid the shirt off Sasuke’s shoulders and carelessly let it drop to the floor. He worked on his own clothes next, careful not to break the chain of their soft kisses. He undid his jacket and tie, letting them both fall to the ground, and then his button up came off. Sasuke didn’t do anything with his hands. He just stood and moved the way Naruto seemed to want him to.

It was then that Naruto grabbed both of Sasuke’s hands and pulled away, finally breaking their kiss.

They stared into each other’s eyes again and from doing so, Sasuke knew what Naruto wanted. He pulled Naruto along, down the hallway to his dark room. He didn’t bother turning on the lights, and instead led Naruto through the darkness, to the bed. Sasuke turned and sat on the bed first. Then, to his surprise, Naruto kneeled down in front of him. Tanned hands worked at Sasuke’s belt and zipper, quickly undoing both. Sasuke raised his hips to give Naruto the leverage he needed to pull his pants and briefs down in one go. 

Looking at his stoic face you wouldn’t be able to tell, but Sasuke was incredibly hard. Naruto stared face to face with the head of Sasuke’s swollen cock and for a moment Sasuke thought Naruto was going to chicken out. But then, Naruto engulfed what he could of the enlarged organ, causing Sasuke to hiss and for his eyes to roll to the back of his head. He didn’t bother with going slow, or easing Sasuke into the feeling. It was hot and fast, like Naruto was completely dehydrated and Sasuke was the last drop of water on this Earth. Naruto sucked on him hard, making sure to let his tongue roll down the base of his cock with each pump of his head. God, it was hard to keep from rocking his hips up, pushing more of himself deep into Naruto’s throat. But Sasuke didn’t want him to choke. As amazing as that sight would be, he wasn’t prepared to risk ending this moment too soon.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke as he continued to move. Sasuke was staring back down at him with a glazed look in his eyes. It was the first time Naruto had seen Sasuke’s face look less than put together. It wasn’t like they when they’d had their little ruts in the past. 

Naruto tightened the muscles in his mouth and moved faster. 

Sasuke groaned and opened his mouth, letting out a heavy breath. The noise nearly made Naruto moan, but he held himself together. He grabbed Sasuke’s thighs and squeezed. 

Sasuke ran his hand through Naruto’s hair, once again, careful not to push down and choke him. 

Even so, Naruto was relentless. Each time he dipped down Sasuke’s mind spun. He felt like he was going crazy. 

“Naruto,” Sasuke breathed out.

Naruto ignored him, continuing his movements with more vigor. 

“Naruto, stop.” Sasuke pleaded for the first time. He sounded almost desperate. Again, Naruto ignored him. Sasuke grit his teeth.

Seconds later he couldn’t hold out anymore. The way his organ swelled up and twitched told Naruto he was close without Sasuke having to. The warm liquid that spilled into the back of Naruto’s throat sent a heat down to his own erection. Naruto wasn’t able to stop himself from moaning around the part of Sasuke still twitching helplessly in his mouth. The vibrations around him made Sasuke hiss and Naruto nearly did it again just for the hell of it. 

It wasn’t until Naruto knew for sure that Sasuke was finished that he pulled away, swallowing everything and looking completely unbothered. In fact, he looked like he wanted more, and _that_ was enough to get Sasuke’s blood pumping again.

When Naruto finally stood, Sasuke was looking up at him out of breath and flushed. The urge to fish out his phone and snap a picture came over Naruto, but he didn’t. Until now, he hadn’t thought Sasuke was capable of making such a face. He wondered what made things different now.

Sasuke looked away, unable to take Naruto’s scrutinizing stare any longer. “Idiot,” he breathed out, because he knew what Naruto was thinking. It made Naruto smile a little, even if it didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

Finished with his silent staring, Naruto unbuttoned his own pants and let them fall to the floor along with his boxers. He stepped out of the pool of clothes and walked over to the nightstand where he knew Sasuke kept his lube and condoms based on the first and last time they’d used them months ago. He pulled out what he needed, then walked back over. He placed a knee on either side of Sasuke’s hips and positioned himself there in his lap. 

Sasuke was filling out again as he looked up at Naruto. He watched Naruto with an intensity that was unlike his usual stoic stare. And if Naruto had looked away for just a moment, he would’ve missed the way Sasuke’s throat bobbed, swallowing an invisible lump at the sight Naruto presented him.

He’d poured a considerable amount of lube on his fingers, and then lifted his body the slightest bit, enough to get his hand around so that his lubricated fingers could probe his entrance.

It wasn’t until Naruto’s lips parted with a whimper and his eyes squinted shut, that Sasuke knew Naruto had begun stretching the muscles there. 

Watching Naruto moan and bite his lip as he and teased his entrance open quickly made Sasuke’s erection almost painful. He nearly lost his composure. He itched to take over Naruto’s actions, but something told him that Naruto was doing all of this for a reason. He didn’t want to break the blonde’s concentration. 

It didn’t take long for Naruto to loosen himself. Maybe not long enough. Sasuke could have watched him forever, even if he would never admit his disappointment.

He didn’t have too much time to dwell on it anyway. The next thing Naruto did was grab hold of Sasuke’s erection. All thoughts of minor disappointment evaporated with each stroke down the entire length of his cock. Sasuke grit his teeth, but didn’t move otherwise. While Naruto stroked Sasuke with one hand, he brought the condom up to his lips with the other and bit the wrapping open. He pulled out the condom and spat the wrapper onto the floor. With his eyes staring so intently into Sasuke’s, something in the air around them shifted. Naruto’s stroking slowed to a stop, and he pulled his hand away to replace it with the condom. Slowly, he rolled it down until there was nothing left. Sasuke bit his lip, and Naruto wanted to bite it for him. So he did. 

He captured Sasuke’s lips in a messy kiss. Naruto’s arms went around Sasuke’s neck and Sasuke’s around his waist. They pulled their bodies together and both moaned when their erections were pressed together.

It was so much, and yet not enough. Naruto couldn’t take it much longer. He was starting to leak, and the attention Sasuke’s dick was giving his wasn’t what he needed, even if it was enough to fire his neurons into overload.

Naruto broke the kiss to reach down and grab onto Sasuke’s cock once again.

Sasuke’s arms and legs twitched in anticipation as Naruto lifted himself up and aligned the tip of Sasuke’s dick with his entrance. Slowly, he pushed himself down, taking Sasuke in inch by inch. Naruto let out a throaty moan, while Sasuke closed his eyes and made a noise that could have been a growl or a moan or some mixture of the two. 

Naruto wasn’t immediately able to go down all the way, so he lifted himself again and pushed down with the intention to fill himself up till there was no more left. The action was agonizing, slow and completely mind-blowing. Sasuke had to clench his jaw to keep his mouth from hanging open.

Naruto had repeated the action, a slow up and down, until he was all the way in. 

For a moment, he sat there, letting his insides relax. Sasuke’s eyes had closed tightly, unable to comprehend the feeling. It really was nothing like his first time with Naruto. The first time didn’t compare to this in the slightest. There was something else there, something making each action so much more intense. It fueled every movement between them with electricity that wasn’t there before. They both had an idea of what it was, but neither was willing to admit it yet. 

After a minute of being still, Naruto was ready to move, and when he did Sasuke made a noise that sounded guttural and absolutely filthy. Naruto couldn’t help but moan along with him. The sensation was causing all of the nerves in his body to tingle and his muscles to spasm. He felt like he was losing his mind. And all he knew was that if he was, he was taking Sasuke down with him.

The more Naruto moved on top of him, the more Sasuke lost himself. He placed his hands on Naruto’s shoulders and snapped his hips upward to match Naruto’s movements. With his first thrust, Naruto threw his head back and he’d nearly screamed. For a second, Naruto was afraid he would cum right then and there. But Sasuke was far from finished.

He licked his lips at Naruto’s expression and ruthlessly dragged Naruto down with the hands on his shoulders while moving his hips upward to complete the action. The feeling was painfully erotic, not giving Naruto any time to compose himself, or even move on his own. His mouth was simply hanging open, spilling noises Naruto didn’t think even sounded like his. But Sasuke was moaning now too, uncontrollably, in a way that seemed unreal to both of them.

They continued that way for a few minutes, until Sasuke was ready for more, and Naruto was in no position to stop him. He grabbed Naruto by the hips and flipped their positions. Naruto gasped when his back hit the bed beneath him.

Sasuke was on top now and staring down at him with a look Naruto had never seen so strong before. Sasuke’s eyes were dark and clouded with lust. They were both sweating and breathing hard. 

Sasuke pulled out of Naruto until it was just his tip inside and slowly pushed back in. He rested his forehead against Naruto’s and repeated the action. Each thrust had turned more purposeful, not at all like the animalistic pounding from when Naruto was on top. Each time Sasuke pushed all the way in, Naruto felt like he was going to lose himself. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t just the quick and dirty sex it had started out to be. It was almost sweet; the way Sasuke took the time to feel his way inside of Naruto.

Sasuke wasn’t sure what had come over him just then. He had this strange desire to melt inside of Naruto. He hadn’t meant to kiss the side of Naruto’s face, but he did before his mind could stop the action that should have been meaningless.

It wasn’t until he pulled away that he saw the tears slipping down Naruto’s cheeks. Sasuke’s insides ran cold. His heart did a weird thing that he wasn’t quite used to. He stopped his movement and compulsively pressed his hand against Naruto’s face. He wasn’t completely sure why. Maybe it was to get Naruto to look at him, to explain why he’d suddenly started crying. Maybe it was to wipe the tears away. Maybe it was because earlier that evening Naruto had pressed Sasuke’s hand to his cheek and it seemed like it calmed him in a way that Sasuke had yet to understand. Either way, he did it, and rubbed his thumb over the marks on Naruto’s face that had drawn Sasuke in from the beginning. 

Naruto grabbed his hand and shook his head. The next words Naruto spoke sounded like they were choked out, raw and pleading, “Please don’t stop.” 

Sasuke stared down at the depleted and broken blond, no longer the boisterous, young man who’d captured Sasuke simply with his looks.

Sasuke stroked his cheek, unable to control or explain this strange tenderness that was building inside of him.

“Please,” Naruto pleaded again. Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath, realizing that for a while he hadn’t been breathing. It wasn’t until Naruto gave him a shaky nod that he obliged, pushing himself deep inside of Naruto and pulling out again, even slower now. He gave Naruto a gentle kiss in the midst of his movements. After doing so Naruto gave him a look like he wanted more. So, he continued giving him small kisses while they did something that felt less like sex and more like making love.

For Sasuke, it was a terrifying feeling.

 

* * *

 

Sasuke woke up with the sun. He squinted his eyes around his room and immediately knew he was alone. He turned over and stared at the empty spot beside him where he’d remembered Naruto nodding off the night before. 

Something compelled him to reach out and stroke the spot. It was only when he was in the middle of desperately gripping the sheets that he pulled his hand away and clutched it in a fist at his chest. 

He turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, remembering the images of Naruto’s tear stained face while they were…

Sasuke covered his face with a pillow and willed the images away.

 

* * *

 

Naruto had walked into his apartment with the expectations of an emptiness he could surround himself in. It would allow him to digest the course his life had taken, and evaluate the decisions he’d made in the past few weeks. But he wasn’t given the luxury of emptiness. 

In fact, what he’d walked in on spiked his anxiety up so fast he’d thought he might have a heart attack. 

Karin was standing in the middle of his living room wearing a tan pantsuit covered by a plush white coat. She stood, turning on her heels to take in the modest two-bedroom apartment. When he entered, it was the first thing she pointed out. “You live alone in a two bedroom apartment? Shabby, but cozy I suppose.” She lifted the bangle Naruto kept next to his television, and Naruto wondered if she recognized whom it used to belong to. She sat it back down almost immediately and looked his way for the first time since the disaster at the dinner party.

Naruto cleared his throat before he spoke, “How did you get in?” He slowly closed his door, toed off his shoes and hung his coat while he waited for her explanation. 

Karin grinned and shrugged a delicate shoulder, “I charmed your landlord.” Naruto didn’t want to question her meaning, so he accepted her words and went to his kitchen to pour himself a glass of orange juice. 

“Uh...” he looked down at the half empty carton, then at Karin. “Would you like something to drink?” He asked and indicated the orange juice, because aside from that, all he had was milk and tap water. She scrunched her nose and quickly shook her head.

“I won’t be staying long.”

Naruto hoped that was true. While he didn’t fully blame her for what she’d said, it was hard to look her in her eyes after what he’d done the night before.

“You slept with him again, didn’t you?”

Naruto felt like he’d been splashed with cold water. Was she somehow able to read his mind? Or had Sasuke told her? It was hard to tell. 

Karin laughed at his shocked expression and nearly pointed a finger at it. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Naruto cleared his throat, face red and eyes shifting to look at everything but her. “I’m sorry,” he said, because he didn’t know what else he could.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Karin said, it may have sounded sweet, but there was an edge somewhere hiding in her tone that Naruto didn’t miss. He decided not to answer that. She went on as if she didn’t care, “He really does have a good looking cock though, doesn’t he? Big thing, and nicely shaped too.” She mused and Naruto could feel his face heating up all the way to the back of his neck. 

“I’m really sorry,” Naruto blurted out, partially because he didn’t want to talk about Sasuke’s dick with his wife, and partially because he knew he had to apologize. Not just because he’d had sex with Sasuke the night before, but for everything. 

Karin blinked out of her amused state, surprised because the words had come out of nowhere. She straightened and cleared her throat. “You’re sorry?” She knew he should be, but she wanted to hear more. 

Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to tell you at first, because I didn’t want you to hate me for being in love with your husband.” Saying it out loud was more unsettling than Naruto imagined it would be. But, he didn’t take anything back, and regardless of Karin’s shocked expression, he continued. “I was just so happy that I could learn more about my mom. She was everything to me. When she passed away, I didn’t have much left of her. She always said her family was far away, and I never thought I’d be able to meet you or them or... whatever.” He was getting off track, and her constant staring was making him flustered. He pushed through the uncomfortable feeling to get everything off his mind, “But I never wanted this thing with Sasuke to turn out this way. 

Before I’d even realized it I was obsessed with him, and it was making me lose sight of what mattered. Hell, my friend just passed away and I didn’t even realize what was happening because I was so damn caught up.” He narrowed his eyes, feeling the rush of emotion he was trying hard not to feel these past few days. He pushed it down, refusing to cry now of all times. “I used to be a good person, I think. But even with how badly I felt about you, I still went back to him. What type of person does that make me?” Naruto smiled grossly at himself, disgusted now that he was standing before Karin, this gorgeous woman, and letting it all out.

And then, Karin did something he wasn’t expecting after all of that. 

She laughed at him.

She laughed hard too, and pointed as if he were a clown doing tricks.

Naruto’s mouth hung open for a moment. It took him a second to realize he was being mocked and it made him feel even worse than before. _She must really hate me_ was his deciding thought. 

“Oh Naruto. Your heart bleeds just like your pitiful father’s doesn’t it?” She shook her head and wiped away her mirthful tears. Naruto grit his teeth, because he wanted to snap at her, even though he knew he didn’t have the right to.

And again, Naruto was thrown off his axis when Karin did something else unexpected. 

She walked over, still chuckling here and there, and hugged her arms around Naruto’s neck. Naruto was too startled to hug back right away. Instead he held his arms up to his sides, frozen and a little worried that she was planning on snapping his neck. A part of his overactive brain noticed that she smelled amazing, like some flower he’d never heard of, or possibly what the top of a mountain smells like.

"Naruto,” she said again, this time soothing Naruto’s worries with a voice that reminded him so much of his mother that he nearly burst into tears. She allowed the hug for a few seconds, then pulled away and ruffled his hair. He couldn’t help but smile, even if he was still unsure about all of this. Karin grinned, “I don’t blame Sasuke for wanting to fuck you. I mean, you’re a cutie and you make that stupid face that makes you look like a virgin.” She pointed at the face he was making now, and Naruto quickly hardened his expression, even if he couldn’t manage actually being offended. “But, I’m still pissed. And if I’m being honest, I never want to see your face again.” His heart dropped then and the smile coming on was pulling downward into a frown. Karin completely pulled away after that and sighed. “But, who knows. Maybe I’ll come around. My stupid sister was hardheaded until the day she died. I’ll try not to be the same.” She pinched Naruto’s cheek, almost painfully. Naruto realized that her words weren’t meant to hurt him, but were, in fact, the simple truth. So he smiled again, albeit a sad smile.

Another deep exhale of breath and Karin walked a few steps away as if she were preparing to leave. But then, she stopped abruptly and snapped her fingers. She quickly turned to him once again and exclaimed. 

“Oh shit! I almost forgot. Here’s the real reason I came here.” She pulled an envelope from her jacket pocket and handed it over for Naruto to open.

He looked down at it, reading the neat scrawl of his name written across the front before he flipped it over and opened it from the back. 

His eyes scanned over the letter, and by the end, he feared they were so wide that they’d pop out of his head. 

“What is this?” He asked. Sure, he could read, but he _really_ needed her to clarify. 

“Your inheritance,” she said, knowing it was a lot to take in.

“I can’t...” Naruto started, shoving the letter back into the envelope and holding it out to Karin. “I can’t take this. This is too much.”

Karin rolled her eyes, “Don’t act like I’m _giving_ it to you. It’s yours.” 

“But...” Naruto could quite wrap his mind around what she was saying. “I thought my mom... I thought she gave up on that...”

“Dummy,” Karin shook her head and scoffed. “Both you and my prideful sister, dummies.” Naruto opened his mouth to refute the insult, but Karin wouldn’t have it. “Kushina always thought we’d hated her for leaving the family to marry your _nobody_ of a father. And sure, our parents didn’t reach out to her, but that was because she never reached out to us.” Karin laughed a little at the thought. “And yeah, it was childish, but it was their pride versus hers. Even so, when our parents passed away, they still left her with half of the family fortune. She just never claimed it. Now that she’s gone, it’s rightfully yours.”

Naruto blinked at her, digesting the words as best as he could. He squeezed the envelope in his fist and held it close to his chest.

Karin shrugged, “Do whatever you want with it.”

Naruto gulped, and then carefully removed the crumpled letter from the envelope to read over it once more:

**To the direct descendent of the Uzumaki Household and beneficiary to all properties belonging to Kushina Uzumaki as declared in her final will.**

**Naruto Uzumaki will receive upon notice a sum of**

“200 million United States dollars...” Naruto huffed out a breath when he felt his chest constrict. He wasn’t even sure how that translated in yen, but he didn’t doubt that it was more than he could imagine.

Karin walked past Naruto towards the door. She reached out for it, but stopped and turned to say, “By the way, we’re getting divorced.”

“Divorced?” Naruto asked as he turned to meet her eyes that were somehow content. As disoriented as he was by the sudden news, he did his best to focus on what she was saying. 

“Now that the cat’s out of the bag, our relationship is kind of a joke now. Don’t want to be known as the infamous Uchiha Beard now, do I?” She said with a wink. Seconds later, she was gone.

 

* * *

 

In the next few days Naruto was almost shocked to see that his life was falling back into place. He was working at Club Locust again, barely getting any sleep. He mainly hung around Sakura and Shikamaru and the others if they weren’t busy. However, he hadn’t seen Hinata since the funeral. He figured she’d take whatever time she needed and reach out when she was ready, so he did his best to leave her alone. Losing someone that close, he understood what it could do to you.

He often carried the letter Karin had given him in his pocket; looking at it every now and again to make sure he hadn’t imagined the whole thing. Two hundred million American dollars, what was he even supposed to do with that? He was so overwhelmed by the amount that he hadn’t told anyone about it, not even his father.

Aside from that, there was Kiba, who was around more often than not. As much as the past hurt, Naruto couldn’t stand by and let his old friend go through the downward spiral he could see coming. Kiba wasn’t eating much and didn’t smile as often as he used to. The first time they’d hung out was the day after Karin had visited Naruto’s apartment. 

He came over and thankfully they hadn’t mentioned Neji once. They just sat in the apartment they once shared and put on some action movie to ease the tension. 

The next time they hung out, Sakura came over bringing snacks as usual. Kiba was still quiet as ever, but didn’t look as broken as he had the first time he’d come, as if there was nowhere else to go. Naruto wouldn’t be surprised if for Kiba there wasn’t.

He’d never considered how much Kiba had sacrificed back then. Most of their mutual friends were weary about hanging out with Kiba because of the situation with Naruto, and if Naruto remembered correctly, Kiba’s family wasn’t too thrilled about homosexuality. He remembered when they were in high school and Kiba made Naruto promise not to mention Neji to their parents so that they could continue to hang out. It must have been some news when it was Kiba mentioning Neji to them after all. With everything that happened, the only people Kiba could really call his friends were Neji and Hinata. And at a time like this, he must feel so incredibly lonely. 

But over the course of a week Kiba was functioning almost like the old Kiba. Akamaru definitely aided in the recovery. Naruto had even convinced Kiba to try out for the university soccer team with him next semester, which gave them enough time to re-condition their bodies. 

Things were turning in a direction Naruto had never expected them to. He’d wished Neji had fought his illness, but he understood why he didn’t. Watching his mother fight it, because she was the type of person who never backed down from a challenge was an extremely numbing experience. Every day for her seemed unimaginably painful and it only created a weight for the rest of the family to carry. Even if Naruto knew his mother had never intended it to. Neji was around during that time. He likely didn’t want to go through that same thing, or make the people around him go through it all over again. Both Kiba and Naruto were beginning to understand that and it made it easier to bear the knowledge of his death.

The only thing in Naruto’s life that remained unanswered was whatever was going on between him and Sasuke. They hadn’t met since that time after the funeral and a part of Naruto was afraid to. Sasuke had to have felt the same thing Naruto did. A meeting that was meant to be a release of all Naruto’s stress, turned into something completely different. The way Sasuke looked at him in the end, it was like he was in love. 

Naruto knew, when it came down to it, that he had a decision to make. It wouldn’t be easy.

 

* * *

 

It was Sunday; one of Naruto’s rare off days. Everyone was gathered in Sakura’s dorm since it was the first time in a while that they were all free, save for Hinata.

Ino and Sakura were cooking in the kitchenette, chatting about some show, while the rest of them sat in the middle of the dorm drinking beer and playing cards. Temari was also there. Lately, it seems like she’s been putting in an effort to get to know Shikamaru’s friends. Maybe Neji’s death had something to do with it. Even though she wasn’t everyone’s favorite, and her bluntness could be easily misconstrued for something else, they appreciated that she was putting up a better effort.

It was after they’d all finished their first beer that Naruto had announced to them, “I’ve been sleeping with a married man.”

The immediate response was silence. Even Sakura and Ino had come down form their conversation to look at Naruto. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking down at his second drink even as he felt his friend’s eyes on him. 

“Uhm,” Ino said, walking from the counter over to the couch. She leaned against it, “Naruto, not to be a dick, but we all kind of knew.” 

Naruto let out a dry chuckle, and it only made the tension around the room grow more apparent. “Yeah, I know. But I’ve never really said it, have I?”

“Not like you need to with the latest news out,” Temari commented under her breath and Shikamaru pinched her side for it. 

“Right,” Naruto said through a sigh.

Sakura walked up next, “Why are you saying this?” 

He looked up at her and smiled, an eerie resemblance to the way he used to smile with his friends. For a moment, he looked years younger. With a shrug and another sip of his beer, Naruto answered, “Because I’m done.” 

“Done?” Sakura immediately questioned and Naruto nodded.

“I’m done.” He turned to Kiba after that. “I get why you did, what you did. Even if it was the worst fucking thing I’ve ever had to go through.” Kiba winced and Naruto didn’t stop there. “I let it weigh me down for a whole year, afraid to let anyone too close, and turning into someone that is so unlike me.” He cleared his throat and took another sip. “But then, I meet this guy who’s so different. He’s so…” he couldn’t put it into words.

“Naruto…” he heard Sakura say, her tone giving him more encouragement.

“Anyway,” Naruto shook his head. “I’m not going to see him anymore. And… I forgive you.”

The words hung in the air for a moment. Kiba swallowed and looked as if he were seconds away from choking up. He didn’t though, and Naruto was grateful. He couldn’t handle any more tears, not for a while. 

But then, Kiba moved closer to him and threw an arm around his neck, and Naruto feared he might be the one choking up.

“Thanks man,” Kiba mumbled, face pressed into Naruto’s shoulder.

Naruto chuckled and raised a hand to pat Kiba’s back.

They hugged for a few seconds, and then Kiba sat back and grinned.

Ino was the one to break the tension after that, “Well! Now that that’s all cleared up, did you guys see that last episode of So You Think You Can Dance?”

Shikamaru groaned, “Jesus, Ino, you’re the only one who watches that crap.”

Lee jumped up, “I saw it! Wasn’t Jackie incredible? Her flexibility and strength—!” 

“Oh God, you two,” Sakura groaned this time and the room laughed. 

“What is that? I’ve never seen it,” Naruto asked around the room and Ino’s mouth fell open. 

“Okay, now that you’re officially out of ‘Hermit Mode’ we’re binging!" 

“No! Absolutely not,” Shikamaru interrupted. “You’re not spoiling Naruto’s brain with that crap.”

“Spoil sport,” Ino grumbled, then turned her puppy-dog eyes to Naruto.

Naruto laughed and shook his head, “How am I supposed to say no to that face?”

Ino pumped a fist and both Sakura and Shikamaru let out loud groans of defeat.

The room filled with excited stories, jokes and laughter. The pasta Sakura was making tasted delicious. Naruto had only been joking when he’d told her that he wished it was ramen, but Sakura slapped the back of his head anyway. They talked about soccer and the upcoming season. They drank until their stomachs ached and their eyes were too heavy to force open. It was that night, laying on Sakura’s couch surrounded by his friends passed out on different sections of the small living room, that Naruto realized he didn’t want to be anywhere else but here.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! How are y'all feeling? It's the end, but not really. Okay? I've got one more little thing I'll be posting tomorrow. For now, I really want to know what you're all thinking. 
> 
> Also, thank you so much to everyone who's read and enjoyed the story so far. I'm sorry I got tripped up with life and started posting like a piece of shit. Regardless, I hope you all had a good time reading this. 
> 
> Again, I'll be posting tomorrow!!
> 
> Until then~


	14. Epilogue

Three years passed.

Naruto had graduated with a teaching degree after months of indecision on what he wanted to do with his life.

He had yet to really touch the money Karin had practically handed to him. There was something about it that felt wrong. His mother hadn’t accepted it for a reason. He figured he shouldn’t for his own reasons (even if he was still figuring those out).

At a bar near his home, he met with Kiba for the first time since graduating. It had already been nearly two years. Their relationship had become close again in his last year of school, but Kiba had taken a job in Australia, and was only in Japan for a quick visit. 

“How’ve you been?” Kiba asked as he slid into the stool beside Naruto’s. 

Naruto grinned at his friend and shrugged, “Not bad, getting ready for the school year,” he said and jokingly raised his glass of beer. 

“Ah,” Kiba gave a slow nod and laughed. “I don’t know how you do it, dealing with kids as bad as you were,” Kiba shook his head at that and Naruto laughed this time.

“Not sure either,” that was a lie, or rather, a joke. He loved his students. Even though this was only his second year of teaching, he felt confident after the first year had gone so smoothly. First graders were a handful, but Naruto could say the same for himself. Maybe that’s why they all gravitated to him so effortlessly. 

Kiba went on to tell Naruto about his job. He was a zoologist, traveling through Australia to learn about animal behaviors. Naruto couldn’t control his laugher when Kiba had told the story of how his first koala excursion had gone wrong.

“I didn’t know the little guys could get so aggressive,” Kiba grumbled over the rim of his glass.

Naruto continued to laugh and shook his head, “You’re asking how I deal with six year olds and you’re being chased by koalas.”

“Hey!” Kiba pointed, “Don’t compare the world’s cutest animal to your demon children.” 

Naruto shook his head again, “You’re ridiculous.”

They chuckled together, both comfortable with the silence that was building around them.

When Kiba cleared his throat moment later, Naruto turned to him again with a raised brow. “Have you heard from Hinata?” 

Naruto’s heart twisted at the sound of the girl’s name.

No, he hadn’t. He had only really seen her a handful of times after Neji’s passing. From what he’d heard from Gaara, his childhood friend was doing okay. But, it hurt to think she was so unwilling to see them again. She’d completely detached herself from the group, as if any moment with them would spark up a memory too painful for her to bear.

Naruto shook his head instead of speaking, afraid that his voice would betray him. 

Kiba nodded at that, choosing to remain silent as well than to bring up more old feelings that had already been left far behind.

“And what about dating? Meet anyone special?” Kiba asked, tone light this time and easing a bit of Naruto’s anxiety.

The pained look vanished and Naruto gave Kiba a large grin, “I’m actually going out with Gaara now. Have been for the past few months.”

 Kiba’s eyebrows rose while he gave a dragged out, “Really?”

Naruto shrugged, “We’ve been dancing around this thing for a while so...” Naruto nodded his head, letting the action speak for itself.

“Yeah, I get what you mean. That’s great though!”

“Yeah,” Naruto said. Something in his voice gave him away, a hesitation that Kiba wouldn’t bring up.

“I’m sure Temari is happy,” Kiba joked and Naruto laughed a bit at it.

“She has been a little too encouraging. Keeps asking how our sex life is,” Naruto shuddered.

Kiba’s face scrunched, “Man, that is one crazy woman. She’s pregnant now, right?”

Naruto nodded while he swallowed a bit of beer, “Yep, it’s a boy.”

“God, that’s so crazy.” 

“I know,” Naruto sighed. He still couldn’t imagine Shikamaru as a dad.

“Time really flies, huh?” 

_It does_ , Naruto silently agreed. Sakura and Lee were planning their own wedding. Shikamaru’s had been shotgun style and Ino and Chouji were planning their baby shower. Everyone was growing up and moving on. Even Naruto had relented and allowed Gaara to sweep him away. 

And even as all this time goes by, and all these changes move around him, there was a face in the back of Naruto’s mind that had been permanently etched in, a scent and a voice that he couldn’t shake away. No matter how much time passes, it’s always there, haunting him and taking him away from the life he’d desperately tried to build for himself.

Somehow, the beer he was drinking left a lingering sourness on the tip of his tongue.

 

* * *

 

The list of his students was emailed to Naruto the next night. Gaara was working late that night and Naruto was left alone in his affordable studio apartment downtown. He’d swiped away the message he’d received from him, stating he’d be over late that night. 

In his boxers and T-shirt, Naruto shuffled over to his desk to check the email the administrator had sent over.

His plan was to make his seating chart, then head to bed early. He figured Gaara wouldn’t mind joining him in bed, then maybe a little early morning screw.

He cracked the bones in his fingers, and then scrolled down the email to the attached file. He could already see that his class would be full, twenty or so kids. He smiled fondly as he went down the list of names, imaging what each kid would look like before he’d get the chance to meet them.

It wasn’t until his eyes landed on a name he wasn’t able to move from that the spark in his eyes died out. 

Uchiha, Sarada.

Naruto choked and stood from his seat so abruptly that the chair came clattering down behind him.

_Uchiha._

_Sarada._

His eyes grew wide as he repeated the name over and over in his head. His heart was pounding and he could feel himself starting to sweat.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa~ I'm sort of sad that this is the end. 
> 
> Like always, thank you guys for sticking through it with me. I hope you all enjoyed this story and are excited for a second part. Originally the story didn't end like this (at all), but after a ton of inner debating I'm glad it did.
> 
> Let me know what you all think, final impressions and all of that. 
> 
> Otherwise, I'll see you in Part II


End file.
